Vice and Virtue
by TheShoelessOne
Summary: Sequel to SENSE series. Rayne. A series of interconnected oneshots based on the vices and virtues of this strange new relationship. COMPLETE!
1. Wisdom

**Wisdom**

Keeping secrets was one thing at which Jayne Cobb was adept. Hell, he'd managed to keep his middle name a well-guarded secret for all his time on that boat, and he planned on keeping it that way. But keeping that kiss with River Tam a secret was on a completely different level. One didn't keep middle names and kisses in the same locked box. There were so many good reasons for Jayne to keep this secret as tight and locked away as any secret threat to interplanetary instability. Both had a chance of getting him shot down like a dog.

But the way that girl was batting her eyes at him across the table was seriously threatening his resolve. How was it when he so much as blinked in her direction, he was in seven kinds of trouble, but she makes eyes at him at the crowded table and no one so much as mentions it?

He glared up from where he had previously been concentrating very hard on the protein in front of him, and the girl _grinned_. He averted his eyes before the quick-witted doctor could pick up on the connection. Little did he think anyone would notice the _dis_connection.

"Jayne?" Mal asked, swallowing another bite of unappetizing gruel. "Got somethin' to add, or you gonna keep starin' at your food 'til it sets on fire?"

"Ain't worked yet," Jayne growled back. "And 'til _somethin_' catches fire I ain't gonna be satisfied."

"The air tastes like fire," River muttered. She thankfully diverted everyone's attention. "Hot and dry, melts the insides. It's oh-so-wonderful, when she tastes fire." She held her palm pressed just below her throat, at her collarbone. "Catch her on fire, watch her burn."

Blue eyes flicked up from their constant vigilance on the plate, and he immediately regretted it. As soon as eyes met, that's when the smile came. She showed her pretty white teeth and smiled, involuntarily making his throat dry. Before anyone at the table could get any kind of idea, Jayne threw down the utensil in his hand and pushed himself back from the table.

"Gorramit, how'm I s'posed t' eat with all that _feng le_ talk goin' on? Ain't you got somethin' for her t' take, Doc?"

"Anything I have is only a temporary solution--"

"Well temp-o-rary her mouth shut for a meal or two, why doncha?" He grumbled, glancing back at River with a veiled expression. Her grin had faltered, and he felt like a right bastard for doing it, but he couldn't have her just proclaiming the thing to the whole 'Verse.

"What is _wrong_ with you?" Simon asked, turning away from his sister to face the merc.

"Don't see why you're so surprised, Simon," Mal said noncommittally. "Jayne's got a way of disappointing most everyone at some time or another."

"Hate t' get regular," Jayne muttered, barely picking at his food and wishing they'd all just talk about something else but him.

And most definitely he didn't look back up to those big brown eyes staring straight at him across the table. He could feel them all prickly on him, but he kept his eyes down. He was the first up and the first out, muttering an excuse to head for the cargo bay. He was pretty sure at least one person at that table hated him right at that moment, and while he loved an altercation as much as the next man, he didn't feel like giving anyone an excuse to shoot him, throw him into space, all that good stuff.

He found a nice little dark corner in the cargo bay, kicking aside some empty black containers from the last job. He sat down, in a silent huff, crossed his arms and just waited. He knew someone would come find him, and he hoped it wasn't Mal or the Doc, mostly because Mal had the power and Simon could get just plain annoying. It was usually Mal, though. He and Kaylee seemed to be the only ones who could wear down his armor, the captain through veiled threats and Kaylee through her constant sweetness.

And now this little moonbrain was chipping away at him. She was fluid, could fit between all the chinks in his armor and burrow in there. Those eyes of hers had a way of sticking with a man, right in the back of his head where he had no chance to reach and clear them out.

Despite that, he was glad when it was little bare feet that approached him there in the bay. He barely lifted his gaze, finding her knees peeking out from under a pretty, flowing blue skirt, and looked back down.

"Hey, _ni zi_," he offered. She bent at the knees beside him, curling her legs under her to better perch herself. She had no expression on her face, which he felt was refreshing.

"_Ye ye_," she retorted, sticking her pink tongue out at him. He let a laugh shake through him, and he settled slightly.

"That ain't fair. I'm old but I ain't _that_ old." He decided now was the time to get his word in, before she rambled off into her world again. "Didn't mean what I said at dinner, 'bout you bein' shut up and all--"

She held up her hand. "Common knowledge. You are a terrible liar, Jayne Cobb."

He didn't expect that. "What?" He asked, knitting eyebrows downward.

"Always so blunt," she informed him, cocking her head in an adorable fashion. "When the words get twisty, something must be wrong."

He rested one arm on his knee, inspecting the girl sitting beside him, with a lopsided smirk. He shook his head once, then looked about the cargo area to make sure no one else had followed her in. In a lower voice, he said: "You gonna hover like that or you gonna scoot on over here where I can get at ya?"

Her smile returned, and without further bidding, she tucked herself against his side as easily as if she belonged there. He took another quick look around, then slid his arm about her waist. A nice, silent moment followed with only the groaning of the ship and far-off noises of the others between them.

"Next time y' go and make them googly eyes at me," Jayne muttered at last, "make sure Mal ain't watchin', all right?"

"You like the googly eyes," she said, slightly confused.

"Yeah, but the Cap'n don't, and I'm pretty sure your brother don't either. They got this... this..."

"Vendetta," River supplied succinctly.

"Yeah, one a' them against me. They see you makin' those kinda looks at me and they're gonna think I done somethin' downright ungentlemanly to ya, which I ain't. And Mal's got this itchy trigger finger he's just been dyin' to have an excuse t' use on me."

She seemed to be thinking good and hard on this, letting her brain turn it over and over. "But wisdom is a virtue; makes us stronger."

"But what they don't know can't hurt _me_," Jayne rebutted. "Hell, you want wisdom, I'm full of it."

"How many chromosomes are in the human genome?"

He paused, stared blinking at the girl beside him for a bewildering moment before he shook his head. "No, that ain't the point. That there's knowledge, completely different from wisdom."

A cute little line formed between her eyebrows. "Explain."

"Well..." He felt a little odd explaining something to the little genius. "You got yourself a brain full 'a knowledge. Smart stuff, like that genome thing." He poked her on the temple to emphasize his point. "You can have all the smarts in the 'Verse, and still not have a pinch a' wisdom. _That_ I got plenty of. Know when t' fight, when t' run, when t' take what y' got and when y' hold out for more. Street smarts, and the like."

"Street smarts," she repeated. She contemplated, then looked resolutely up at him. "Teach me."

"What, right now?"

"Yes." She steeled her face into a mask of determination. "Must differentiate between knowledge and wisdom. Know when to run and when to fight."

"What's in it for me?" Jayne asked, always the shrewd businessman.

She answered by leaping on him, arms around his neck with faces hitched together at the lips, and knocking the both of them to the ground. There ensued only the briefest of struggles, a line of high giggles, then silence.

Some time later, as Inara walked gracefully over the grating catwalks carrying hot water for tea, she happened to look down upon two figures. She paused, having not been seen so far above, to watch and listen. The big merc was sitting on a big square crate, gesticulating with a knife in one hand for some reason. The girl was sitting on the floor in front of him, legs crossed and lost under her blue skirt, her head cocked at a light angle. Her eyes were bright and focused on him, and his big voice was softer than the companion had remembered it being earlier.

"Then this hulkin' _hun dan_ comes up and--"

"Language."

"Aw, c'mon, it ain't no fun if I can't color it up a bit!"

"What does this have to do with wisdom?"

"I'm gettin' to it, don't get your panties in a bunch!"

Inara lowered her brow and smiled at the same time. She remained quiet as she walked on by, careful not to disturb their moment. She didn't know what was going on between the two of them, why they see-sawed so quickly from one extreme to another, but she'd been harboring a vague inkling over the past few days. She liked inklings; they didn't hurt anybody. Mal usually meant well, but in his perfect world, no one would be able to look at _anyone_ with those warm fuzzies on _his_ boat.

Keeping secrets was something Inara could do _very_ well, if need be, and there was nothing in the 'Verse to stop her when she was determined. It was her job. Hell, she'd managed to keep her heart secret from Mal so long, he probably didn't know it existed.

* * *

_ni zi _- little girl  
_ye ye _- (informal) paternal grandfather  
_hun dan _- bastard; jerk

Why hello there, friends! Its me, and I'm back with s'more Rayne for y'all. You should be glad I like writing these two so gorram much... Anyway, the themes for this series should be evident from the title, and I'm gonna make it even easier by putting the vice/virtue in the title of the chapter. Yay! Hope you guys like what I have so far; the first chapter is always shortest, so fear not those in search of longer, meaty chapters. (that sounds dirty...) Thanks for reading, and stay awesome!


	2. Sloth

**Sloth**

"Where in the ruttin' hell is my mercenary?" Mal shouted as he rounded up the ramp and into the ship. Kaylee looked up from her tinkering on the mule, grease in her hair and dirt smudged across her nose. She wiped the sweat away from her forehead with the back of her arm, leaving a long black smear there instead.

"Can't say, Cap'n." She searched inside her toolbox, mumbling something, then grabbed a large wrench and shrugged. "I ain't seen him since he we landed. Though," she added absently as she lowered herself under the suspended transport, "he _did_ say somethin' about wettin' his palate. If there's any bars in town, I bet that's where he's gonna be."

"Usually when someone says 'Can't say, Cap'n', that means they really _can't say_," Mal rolled his eyes. Kaylee shrugged again with her pretty smile flashing.

"Just a guess, is all. Could be he didn't even leave."

"Knowing Jayne, there's any number of places he could be drinkin'," Zoe said as she approached, arms akimbo. "Or whorin'. Or fightin'. Or sleepin'. Or--well, sir, I think you get the point." She glanced out into the hot sun of the afternoon, a hand shading her eyes. "Why you need Jayne so bad? Somethin' go wrong in the negotiations?"

"Ain't been negotiated yet," Mal uttered. "Got me some fine information 'bout our contacts here, and I ain't too pleased with the outcome. Apparently, our boys here got themselves a fancy little game they like t' play with womenfolk. That's why I need Jayne and not you, Zoe."

"Sir, you know that I--"

"Ain't you I don't trust, Zoe, you know that." He checked his holster once, then fiddled with his brown coat. "You'd seen the look in this little feller's eye as he's tellin' me this, and you'd want t' stay back safe with your husband like I'm tellin' you to."

"That an order, sir?"

"You bet your sweet bippy it is." He poked his head under the mule, where Kaylee was still happily tinkering away. "Kaylee, this thing gonna be ready sooner rather than later?"

"No guarantees she'll run smooth if you don't give me another hour, Cap'n. Right now she'll give you a right powerful headache just idlin'."

"Right, you got yourself 45 minutes." He stood, his eyebrows knit dangerously. "And _where_ is my ruttin' mercenary?!"

A good measure away, in the valley under the hills where _Serenity_ was nested, the town of Mill Creek stood quiet and quaint as it always did. The beneficial creek after which the town was named was as bountiful and green as it had always been. The people were as mellow and helpful as they usually were. The only difference that day was the addition of a mercenary in their midst.

He yawned wide and loud, stretching arms out to his side and slumping forward on the barstool. The drink had long been demolished and he was simply wondering what more to do. He'd hoped this town would be somewhat more lively, but their friendliness and general laid-back attitude simply made him all the more apathetic. In fact, even the air circulating in the bar made him feel slow and lethargic. Raising one hand to catch the barman's attention, he stifled another uncharacteristic yawn.

"Y' got somewhere a fella can lay his head down a spell?" Jayne asked as the man approached.

"Got a couch in the lounge," the man responded, jerking his thumb back at a sparsely populated lounge consisting of said sofa, two pool tables, a cluttering of nearly empty tables and a few mismatched armchairs. Jayne nodded, laying down the coin for his drink, and headed off through the thick smoke to lay down, just for a bit.

"Downright... stupefyin'," he muttered as he lay down on the too-small couch. His booted feet hung over one of the arms, and he grunted only slightly in objection. Mal wouldn't miss him for a short nap. Anyway, if he didn't wake up, he still had Zoe to take his place.

Elsewhere, Simon was on the look-out for his little sister. Since he'd had her on this new medication, she'd been able to walk about by herself with little worry on his part. And this being such a benign little town, he didn't have to worry much about her getting into a situation he would have to pull her out of. With Inara on his arm, he looked the part of the rich tourist out to see the wilds of the Rim, and luckily no one questioned him. But he kept a wary eye out for River nonetheless.

"Don't worry, Simon," Inara assured him, patting his arm. "Nothing is going to happen to anyone while we're here. No one's given us so much as a sideways glance."

"Call me over-protective if you want..."

"The Captain gave us this chance to go planetside for our _leisure_, and while I know the Rim planets aren't exactly your idea of paradise, you should just try to enjoy yourself while you have the chance. River can't go far."

Said girl watched from the shadow of an overhang as her brother and the companion strolled by, the latter pointing out some quaint store or somesuch. River smiled slightly as she watched her brother go. She could feel his pulse inside her, frantic in his desire to keep her safe. "Must let me go someday," she muttered just under her breath as he disappeared inside the shop with Inara. River stole like a shadow to her destination across the dusty street. A horse tied in front of the bar started slightly at her approach, but she calmed it with a placid hand on its flank.

"Quiet, little one," she shushed, looking into its wide black eye. "The bear inside is asleep, less likely to attack the flitting bird." A pleased smile took her lips before she slipped inside the smoky bar.

The barman looked up immediately as she entered and frowned. "Sorry, miss, I can't serve minors here." She approached the bar, running her fingers against the smooth varnish of the wood before looking pleadingly up at the barman.

"Looking for my _ye ye_. The big sleeping bear. Must wake him, he slumbers too long." Despite the odd look shot at her from the man, there was no complication in interpretation. She was looking for an older, sleeping man, not looking to order from him. He jabbed a finger at the even emptier lounge. River bobbed her thanks politely before flowing gracefully in her bare feet across the room.

Eyes followed the slender girl through the bar. Wasn't often something like her blew through town, and she was interesting to look at, even if she _was_ a minor. Though she heard their every thought, she remained focused on her objective, the lump snoring away on the couch. He'd managed to scare some of the patrons to different parts of the establishment; only the pair playing pool at the farthest table remained, shooting vehement glances at the source of their frustration.

She smiled pleasantly down at the sleeping form of Jayne, cocking her head this way and that in attempts to study him at all angles. He lay face-up on the couch, legs dangling useless over the opposite end and mouth slightly ajar and emitting low, heavy snores at perfectly timed intervals. With delicate little fingers, she pressed his lower jaw up until it was closed, and he breathed silent through his nose.

"And the great bear slept on the sandy shore, waiting for her cub to follow from the depths." She gracefully, nimbly climbed atop the sleeping man as he lay there, curling her legs to compliment the placement of his, and resting her head carefully on his chest just above his heart. "The Gods took pity on the sleeping bear, and granted her wish, raising her cub from the water as an island."

A minute pause, and then she felt his warm hand slide to rest on her waist just above her hips as she lay on top of him. "That's a mighty fine story, _ni zi_," he muttered sleepily. "I'm the bear, right?"

"Correct," she replied, nuzzling further against him. "Lazy."

"Now wait a sec," he said after a moment of his tired brain processing. "That bear weren't lazy, she was just waitin' for her cub." He still hadn't opened his eyes, trying to hold on to the warmth of sleep.

"_You _are lazy," she corrected, drawing an absent circle on his chest near his collarbone.

He grumbled in the positive, shifting her only slightly to get more comfortable. "Tired," he muttered as clarification. She sighed in response, lowering the defenses herself and relaxing even further.

"Jayne is very, very warm."

"You ain't exactly frigid yerself," was his reply, finding the call of sleep quite tempting, especially in this position. A pleased smirk took the lower half of his face, which he buried in her mass of hair.

"Maybe just a nap," she offered.

"No tricks, now," he warned, his thumb running a short path up and down the small of her back. "Ain't gonna try anythin' while I'm nappin', are ya?"

"Never," she mumbled back, closing her eyes. "Too easy."

A defeated little laugh shook his chest, and her, slightly, then a soft quiet.

"Now bear and cub sleep together in the vast lake, unchanged by time and ages." Her voice was a sleepy whisper against his chest, but it still made him smirk. "A long, sandy sleep."

"Sounds like a time, little bear."

Inara had been thirsty after their search for River, and luckily she was. It had been at least a good half hour between when the girl flitted into the shadows and when Inara's throat finally went dry. Simon suggested one of the finer general stores on the corner, but the companion was fairly sure that the bar might have at least one hot tea available. She seemed able to drink little more, Simon thought with a tight smirk.

The inside was filled with smoke, and somewhere, someone was playing an out-of-tune guitar. Coughing and snoring filled their ears as they entered. Inara didn't shrink from the appraising glances of the patrons, but she didn't flaunt herself either. Simon stuck his hands in his pockets and glanced around. Unfortunately, there was no hot tea, but the barman promised one of the finest water stores in the whole town, and Inara was too thirsty to argue. She sat on one of the stools, and Simon waited stiffly by the door.

"Excuse me," Inara said in a low voice to the barman. "I don't suppose you've seen my little sister, have you? I doubt she would've come in here... but she's about a head shorter than me, long dark hair--she's wearing a long pink skirt today, and she isn't wearing any shoes."

To her surprise, the barman smiled and raised a singular eyebrow in a bemused expression. "Darlin', I'd think ya daft if I didn't see a girl 'xactly like that come in here not half an hour ago." He turned to point the lounge out to Inara, then went back to his duties behind the bar. Inara smiled at once, rising from her seat.

"Simon," she said, and he was beside her quickly. "Would you wait for me outside? I believe I've seen an old contact of mine. I would hate for something to get awkward, even if you _are_ only escorting me. Some men I've known... Well, I believe 'jealousy' doesn't begin to cover it."

"Of course," Simon said warily, giving the room an edgy look before he disappeared back out into the sunny street.

Inara walked the distance to the lounge in an upbeat way she wasn't used to when Jayne was involved. The image she found waiting for her on the couch made her heart bright and warm, and it was all she could do not to fawn like a child over a small animal.

The girl was curled up asleep on top of Jayne, one hand placed firmly on his chest beside her head. His big calloused hand rested against the small of her back, the other resting on his stomach as if reaching for her free one. He lay slightly slack-jawed, snoring again in a low tone complimented by her airy breathing against the fabric of his shirt. Bare feet and heavy boots mingled on the opposite end of the sofa; it was as if the girl was made to fit exactly against him.

She hated to end it, but with Simon just outside, something had to be done. River was barely a feather in her arms as she reached down and scooped her off of Jayne. River's head rolled slightly, and came to rest on Inara's shoulder. Jayne snorted, sitting up with a jolt, and bleary eyes shot open as River's warmth was taken from him. He stared up at Inara blankly for a long moment, neither one saying anything. At last:

"You ain't gonna tell Mal, are ya?"

Inara looked at the top of the girl's head as she lay sleepy against her. The companion's mouth formed into a thin line, feigning irritation.

"You treat her wrong, Jayne," she whispered, so as not to wake River, "and whatever you think Mal is going to do to you will be _nothing_ to what Kaylee and I can come up with. Do you understand?"

Jayne tried to blink the sleep from his eyes, bewildered. "Yes'm," he said in a careful voice. Inara beamed inwardly.

"Simon is outside. Don't follow me out, or he'll suspect." The sun broke through her hardened visage, and the twitch of a smile took the edge of her painted lips. "I'll see you on the ship, Jayne."

She appeared outside with a sleepy River in her arms, and Simon was immediately at her side.

"River! Is she--"

"Shh, doctor," Inara prompted with a pretty smile. "She was sleeping in the lounge the entire time. The barman was keeping an eye on her, so don't worry about a thing."

"She just... fell asleep? In _there_?" He looked at his sister's sleeping form with a mixture of incredulity and relief.

"You'd be surprised where some people can find comfort."

She didn't look back at the bar as they started back for _Serenity_ together. On the way back, they met an irritated and jumpy Malcom Reynolds, looking ready to tear into someone, preferably Jayne.

"Y'all seen him on your fancy and apparently exhausting outing?" He asked irritably. Simon immediately shook his head.

"You may want to check the bars, Captain," Inara suggested, carefully adjusting River in her arms.

"Hmmm... _ye ye_..." the girl muttered before nuzzling into Inara's shoulder and falling back into sleep. The companion tried to stifle a wave of warm fuzzies that crept into her.

Far off, they could still hear Mal shouting, "Where is my _gorram_ mercenary?!"

* * *

AN: Glad to see some of you sticking around, and howdy to all you out there who are new and haven't introduced yourselves yet; welcome to my strange little world! Just a note of interest, the "bear legend" in this chapter is 100 per-cent real. If anyone's been to the Sleeping Bear Dunes on Lake Michigan, you've probably heard this at one time or another. I sure hope I'm still getting all of this right around all this fluff floating in my head. Thanks for reading so far, and stay tuned for more. STAY AWESOME! 


	3. Patience

**Patience**

The way he figured, they didn't get so many opportunities to be all by their lonesome, what with all the pilots, preachers and companions making their merry ways through the boat at all times. What he didn't figure was why the girl had to be such a damn tease. It wasn't fair that she had the advantage, knowing who was going to walk into the room next and when. More than a few times, she'd left him gap-mouthed and looking like a fool standing alone in one of the many winding corridors. He was left to explain himself to the Shepherd or, on one occasion, an offended-looking Kaylee with motherly arms akimbo. Weren't right and proper for a man to stand around with a face like that where womenfolk might accidentally run into him, she would say. Then he'd be off again, searching the ship for that little shadow of his.

Oh well. He probably liked her better that way.

This time, he had her cornered just outside the passenger dorm she and Simon used. She'd been pretending to read, and he had no thought in his head that she didn't know he was there. After a quick check to make sure no Simon noises were coming from either the dorm or the infirmary, he made his move. And she allowed it, not even bothering to look up from her book. Big arms encircled her waist, lifting her from behind and daring a little spin. Despite herself, the move elicited a giggle from the girl, curling her legs and arms closer as he did so. The book dropped to the ground near them, forgotten. Once he'd let her feet touch ground again, tucked her back close against him, his fingers spread wide on her belly.

"Mornin', _ni zi_," he muttered into her hair. Both sets of her fingers interlocked with his, holding them close against her middle without a fight.

"On Osiris, it is exactly 6:34 in the evening," she offered casually. "Your greeting is superfluous."

"Hmph. Try t' do somethin' nice…" He buried his face against her neck, muffling whatever else he had to say. This brought a short little gasp from her, but a pleasant one, as her fingers tightened instinctively around his. Her toes curled as he trailed kisses up her neck and jaw line. He paused, smirking. "We ain't on Osiris, and I just woke up, so it's mornin', all right?"

"Jayne is very warm," she mused, running fingers through the dark hair on his arm. She felt her face taken in one of his hands, and he turned her slightly so he could see her profile. A bright smile took the half of the face he could see.

"Not an answer," he told her, scooping her again in his arms. Her feet lifted off of the floor, dangling just below his knees, and she wrapped her arms loosely around his neck.

"Good morning," she repeated for him. Like a mischievous child, she mussed his hair with her long, thin fingers. The lines around his eyes crinkled up as he smiled, something she didn't let on how much she liked. Her toes touched the ground again, and she found her back up against the nearest wall. One of Jayne's hands was planted on either side of her head against the wall, and he looked down to her, searching the face he knew well.

"You're such a gorram tease," he mumbled, running eyes down the slope of her neck. Her hands fell to rest on his chest, closer than she'd anticipated.

"Not a tease," she said, cocking her head to one side, resting on one of his arms. "Just crazy." She paused to rub her cheek against his arm, absorbing him through his texture with a sigh. "So warm. Could sleep for ages, a dark cave for hibernation, and no one would find me. So safe, and so warm."

It left him downright speechless for a quiet moment. He removed one hand from the wall beside her, combing the hair back from her face with his fingers to inspect her further. "Hell, little bear, you sure know what t' tell a fella, lookin' at him with those big googly eyes a' yours." He thought about it another moment, and his concentration brought a wide smile to her lips. He smirked in concession. "All right, _you_ do the words and the thinkin'. I'll do the _important_ stuff."

She didn't ask what 'the important stuff' was, for his mind's eye was louder than she was willing to block out. She flushed bright red at the mere mention of what was going on in his head, but she bunched her fists in his shirt to keep him from backing away once he saw.

There was no movement for a space of time neither of them measured. An unspoken accord went up between them, then. Wordlessly, her hands slid back around his neck, and she pulled herself up on her toes to reach him and kiss him. He let the surprise pass, and after only another second, he held her hips in his hands, steady.

Her back was against the wall again. She didn't seem to care that Jayne had just woken up and still smelt of sleep; she'd never tell him, but that was when she liked him best. They'd become quite adept at this little dance of theirs, over the week or three they'd been hiding it. She was beginning to learn all the steps that he liked. One step surprised her this time, as she felt his sandpaper hands on her skin just at the hem of her shirt. He hitched her shirt up, just so slightly, running fingers up and along the flesh of her hip.

She pulled back, blinking oddly up at him. As he usually did, Jayne held a strange, glazed expression when she detached from him. Something sounded in the back of her mind, and she smirked again. Pressing fingers flat against his lips, she gazed around at their supposedly vacant surroundings.

"Angels hover," she murmured. "Bright yellow angels, full of laughter, soaring on wings of leaves." Without another word, she ducked out of his grip, laughing brightly. It took him a moment to shake off his daze and move after her. He took hold of her wrist.

"Hey, where you goin'?" Something odd hitched in his face, and she paused in her laughter. Patting his cheek, she moved easily from his grip, spinning twice and moving for the stairs.

"Wash," she said simply, and raced up the stairs. He remained at the foot of the stair, listening as two sets of feet passed each other on the grating.

"Hey, careful there, little girl," he heard Wash's voice from above. River said nothing, but Jayne could practically feel her smile from where he stood. The very thought made him sweat.

That just wasn't _fair_. As the pilot, not his little crazy girl, descended the stairs carrying what appeared to be medical supplies for Simon in the infirmary, Jayne felt the unfairness of it all just boiling up without reason. He never got any Jayne and River time worth even the smallest coin, so he thought, and it was just gorram unfair! Wait, wait, wait some more, and just for a second, he gets to see that girl smile. It wasn't enough.

Just as Wash ambled by him, finally down the stairs, about to open his mouth in greeting, he noticed that Jayne's face was red with frustration and looked ready to kill. It wasn't one of his best decisions, but Wash decided to ask.

"Uh, Jayne? Something wrong?"

A sharp, angry breath, and Jayne whipped around to face the pilot. "Nothin'!" He knew it was a lie, but something in him wasn't satisfied, and he had to let it out on _someone_. "Gorramit!" He lashed out a foot to kick harshly at the nearest stair, making the whole staircase wobble. "I'll be in my bunk!" With that last harsh statement, Jayne stomped off in the general direction of the bow. Wash knew then that he had narrowly avoided death, for some reason.

River sat cross-legged on the floor under the dining table, playing with her hair in a melancholy way. It was a wonder anyone found her, let alone Inara in her resplendent dress. The woman was simply looking for who had taken her collection of teas (she suspected a well-meaning Simon had meant to make something for Kaylee, but should have asked before traipsing off) when she was aware of a girl-shaped lump under the table. It wasn't hard to infer who had hidden herself under there, and the pessimistic part of her brain told her the _why_.

"River, honey," Inara said softly as she knelt beside the table. River didn't look up, simply fiddled with the strands of hair before her face. Inara bit her lower lip, expecting the worst, and reached out a hand to lay on the girl's shoulder. "Did he—"

"Full of angry," River muttered at last. "Can't wait. He's never had to wait before. Not his way, but it's River's way." She looked up, eyes wide but devoid of emotion. "My way. Has to hold out, prove himself, prove he isn't fickle." She pressed the flats of her fingers against her lips, reminiscent.

Inara felt relief, and at the same time her features knit in worry. What if that man really _couldn't_ hold out? "River, you don't have to—" She might have suggested that River and Jayne completely stop this whatever-they're-doing, but River beat her to the punch. Her big eyes grew soulful and sad.

"Want to. Inara can't stop me. It's my choice."

"I know, River, I know." She settled herself under the table beside the girl, taking a hold on one of her hands. "And, I know this is going to sound strange coming from me, but… I approve. Of you and Jayne."

"I know."

"Well, I know you know, but…"

"You wanted me to hear it." She smiled for the woman, then squeezed her hand slightly.

"Normally, thinking of anyone… _with_ Jayne was enough to turn my stomach and make me want to skip a few meals." River smiled as if to say 'that's my man', and Inara continued. "But the way he looks at you, River… It's enough to make a companion jealous." She looked out into the room to make sure they were still alone, then added, "There's a good man in there somewhere…"

River's head perked up. "Must have patience to draw him out." Inara didn't expect to garner the reaction she did, but River nearly leapt on the woman, kissing her once on each cheek affectionately. Before she could react, River was gone out of the galley.

She was about to pull herself to her feet when a hand extended to her from outside the cave of the table. She took the proffered hand, brushing the dust from her dress without even looking up.

"That was interesting," Wash said into the uncomfortable silence, crossing his arms and looking toward the door River had disappeared through.

"Have you been there long?" Inara asked, wringing her hands only slightly. Wash shrugged.

"After Jayne kicked the stairs and before Inara had a complete mental breakdown."

"He _kicked _the—?"

"Heeere it comes," Wash started, throwing up his arms.

"No," Inara calmed herself, showing that she was ready to talk. "Wash… Jayne and River—"

"One step below bumping uglies, I know."

"How do you _know_ all this?"

"Honestly? Most of it I figured out by standing in the kitchen for five minutes in abject horror. You should've seen my face, Inara. Well, I couldn't see it either, but I assume it was a picture of terror. Frighten-small-children type terror." Inara stifled a giggle, and Wash cleared his throat to continue. "But if a fancy woman like yourself approves, I don't see why a handsome, debonair pilot like myself can't see past…" He shuddered at the very thought of Jayne doing the unmentionables.

Inara placed a hand on Wash's arm. "I told Jayne that I would keep this a secret from Mal. Don't give me that look."

"What look? I'm making a look?"

"That Wash-look you're giving me right now. The last thing I want to do is to make that little girl hurt any more than she already is inside. If Mal finds out that _anything_ other than bickering is going on between the two of them, we're going to be down one mercenary and our crazy girl is going to get just a little bit crazier."

He paused, dramatically. "I can see where you're coming from with this, Inara. Here, you don't hit me with your fan or whatever you have behind your back for stealing your tea, and I won't tell Mal about River and good old What's-His-Face." It took the smallest moment for her to contemplate, and they shook hands to seal the deal. Serra and Washburn, partners in crime.

Jayne didn't get to his bunk as planned. He'd taken a detour to the bridge, seeing as he'd probably just scared the pilot into hiding for a year. He leaned moodily on the back of the co-pilot's chair, watching the black of space hover before the ship. It was soft and quiet on the bridge, what he needed to bring him back into a pseudo-calm. A Jayne calm. He could sometimes just stare and get lost in all those stars staring back at him. Time was nothing in space.

Hence, he wasn't quite sure how much time had gone by when he felt little arms encircling his waist from behind. They stood connected for a long while, one watching the stars and the other holding tightly to her rock.

"My way," she said at last, her face buried in his back. He turned at the sound of her, and they faced one another on the bridge. "_Hui xiong_ has always had his way. This time is _my _way." He smiled a bit at the new nickname.

"What's your way, little bear?" He asked, looking down at the top of her head.

"Wait," she said once. "Not everything is solid yet. The mind tumbles and swirls and is unsure of itself. If the mind cannot be sure, neither can the girl." She leaned forward until her ear pressed against his chest, hugging herself to him. "She feels fuzzy for Jayne, and doesn't want him to go away when he can't have his way."

"Hey," he said, at once objecting. "I can be patient."

She smiled pleasantly against the fabric of his shirt. "Thank you for lying, Jayne."

"Yeah, well…" He smoothed her hair calmingly under one big palm. "Whatever makes y' happy, I guess."

Wash had told everyone upon their waking that there'd been a short in some of the navigational equipment, and it would be unwise for anyone to venture onto the bridge for a short time. According to the pilot, River was with Inara and Jayne was in his bunk doing Jayne things. Everyone pretty much left it at that. They drifted off to do their individual things, and the merc and the crazy girl sat together on the bridge, watching the stars float gently past. After all, it wasn't often they had time all to their lonesome.

* * *

_hui xiong_ - grizzly bear 

AN: Hey all, and welcome to chapter three! This is the first time I've really written Wash, so I'm hoping he turns out all right. I am also helplessly in love with the "little bear"/_hui xiong_ nicknames, so I'm sorry if they're weird or anything. Still hope I'm getting the two of them right... Thanks for all your support, and I hope you enjoy my little musings! Much love!


	4. Envy

**Envy**

Jayne hadn't been particularly pleased when River told him that Inara wasn't the only one who knew about the two of them. Inara he was fine with; she wouldn't tell a soul unless she wanted to dangle something particularly damaging above the captain's head. Jayne didn't like to fancy the day that all the woman's training finally snapped under Mal's idiocy and she went about killing everyone on the ship with her little toe. He didn't know why, but it was a good theory; Death by Companion had a nice ring to it. But Wash was a different story. Jayne didn't know hardly anything about the man's secret-keeping skills, and at this point he wasn't willing to bet a single coin on that pilot keeping his lips sealed. As far as he knew, he and the Captain were laughing about it over tea and dumplings, right before kicking him out into space.

River had a way of shutting him up when he was worried. It had something to do with her saying, "Shut up," and kissing him all fierce. That got his mind off of anything rather fast.

Despite all his fretting, Jayne didn't have a single thing to worry about. Not at this point, anyway. Wash was a decent man, and although thoughts of a cuddly Jayne sent him into quiet, frightened pondering for minutes on end, he also wanted to see River happy as much as Inara did. His compensation consisted of a very hot, strong tea from Inara at least once a day. "As long as they don't get frisky when_ I'm _around," was his justification for allowing all this to go on.

And it was all going on according to "River's way." No one had seen River this content, all fluttery when she walked alone through the ship and often humming a tune that no one else seemed to know. If anyone had been smart enough to pull their noses out of their own affairs every once in a while, Wash noticed, they'd see all kinds of things happening in everyday public settings. Jayne even managed to smile in a completely normal manner at dinner once, watching River bite hungrily into a protein roll. She sat beside him more often, and she laughed quietly, as if they shared an unspoken joke. When she'd gotten a streak of engine grease across her nose helping Kaylee one afternoon, Jayne had the balls to wipe it away with his thumb and linger just a little too long.

In fact, Wash and Inara wondered why no one else noticed _anything_ at all. Wash thought they were being fairly obvious about it. He almost dared to bring something up as they stood about in the lounge after eating, but the heat of Inara's glare on the back of his neck sent him stuttering off into a completely unrelated story.

Jayne got worried again, and River shut him up after everyone had gone.

"It ain't fair," he muttered, almost to himself. River turned completely to rest against his side, a hand on his chest. Lying on the floor of the galley, staring up at the stars through the minute windows overhead, River realized they'd been lying silent for nearly an hour.

"Life isn't fair," she retorted, snuggling against his side. "What part is Jayne worried about now?"

"Ain't fair that someone walks through one o' them doors right now, sees you all cozy-like as y'are, there's bound t' be some thoughts in their heads that just ain't right." He shifted slightly with a grunt, placing one arm behind his head. "That happens, you're gonna find yourself down one _hui xiong_."

"No worries," she informed him. River levered herself up so that she leaned over him, hair dangling in the space between them with a pretty smile in the darkness. "It's the witching hour. All lie tucked away in pillowy dreams, so soft and warm, like a cocoon ready to be burst from."

Jayne laughed silently. "Well, hell, we're goin' about this all the wrong way, then. It's mighty cold and hard here on the floor."

She pressed a finger against his lips, traced their outline calmingly. He didn't know his shoulders had been tensed until she managed to make him completely lax on the ground beneath her. He tried to mutter something, but she stayed his lips by adding a second finger. "Shh," she told him, "the stars will hear you."

He shifted up the lean on one elbow, their noses now nearly touching, and he with a half-smirk. She thought mischievous thoughts of her own for a few brief moments. She was interrupted by a red nervous spike that stank of Simon in the back of her mind. She started, and their moment was lost. Both sat fully up, and River wrung her hands slightly.

"Simon is upset," she muttered. Her eyes hung on the door that lead to the lower lever, and therefore her brother. Jayne's smirk grew.

"Hell, I'd be upset if I was your brother, too," he offered jokingly. River's worry paused just long enough for her brows to knit in offense. Jayne, however dull others may have thought him to be, immediately knew he'd just made an ass of himself.

"Upsets Jayne," she muttered. Something in her eyes shifted, and her lower lip pouted outward.

"Now y'know that ain't what I meant, little--"

She stood, suddenly perturbed, her fluttery skirt flowing as she did. "Excuse me. Must go upset someone else, now."

She fluttered right on out of the galley without another word. He was stuck somewhere between feeling guilty and feeling steamed, and he settled on a nice medium: guiltily brewing. He'd stood to go after her, but her footfalls were already disappearing down the grated steps, and one place he didn't want to be with a flustered River was right where her more-flustered brother was going to be. So he stood in the middle of the galley, feeling like an idiot and a bit of a bastard.

His dark feelings stuck with River as she scuttled back to the passenger dorms. The light was on, and worried Simon noises were ensuing from within. Straightening her hair out and wiping Jayne from her lips, she slid the door open and stuck her head in. Simon's head shot up, and, with only one leg in his pants, he promptly fell to the ground. He quickly shot back up, however, hopping into his pants to cross the room and placed his hands on River's shoulders.

"River," he worded breathlessly. "I woke up and--"

"Midnight snack," she told him simply. He caught his breath, and took a step back from his sister.

"You should've got me up."

"Simon is so cute when he sleeps," she remarked with a pretty grin. "Doesn't know he snores."

"I do not," he replied, going pink in the face at the very thought of it. River nodded, her enthusiasm dropping off as she felt Jayne's frustration go bright red behind her eyes. Simon's face fell as well. "River?"

"Bad snack," she murmured, her eyes growing damp. She sniffled, herself frustrated that she couldn't even pretend to hide her emotions. River held the heels of her palms against her eyes, shoulders quivering, as she sank to the floor. Simon was quickly beside her, hugging her shoulders close.

"River, you have to talk to me," Simon pleaded, prying her hands away to inspect her eyes. She bit her lip to keep it from wobbling.

"Can't keep it inside," she whimpered. "Simon's so good at hiding, tucking under his shell to keep the world outside away from his heart." She sniffled again at Simon's bewildered expression. "Make me a tortoise, Simon. I want to pull away and hide."

He pulled his sister's head against his shoulder and ran a comforting hand down her hair. He didn't know what to say to that.

"Come on, _mei mei_, you should sleep. Get that bad snack out of your system."

She sniffled even louder, wiping her eyes on his shoulder, then nodded slowly. Under the covers, she still couldn't get rid of Jayne's red.

Jayne didn't get much sleep, either. He woke in his bunk; at least he'd been able to get _there._ He groaned in pain as he sat up, a pinched nerve in his shoulder shouting loudly at him. He rolled his shoulder, glaring up at the shaft of light coming in through his half-open hatch. Day-cycle already... He was in for a day. He pulled on whatever smelled cleanest and climbed up to his inevitable doom.

Way he figured, that comment he'd made last night had set her off, even if he hadn't meant it in the way she took it. So she'd probably gone off to her brother and wept her secrets out like tears. Jayne was prepared to be spaced or shot that day, whatever came first. He hoped he could at least have some breakfast first.

The galley was nearly full when he walked in. Wash and Zoe sat together, having already pulled their breakfasts from the bubbling pot of faux oatmeal in the kitchen. Wash looked up, nodded his morning greetings, then went back to speaking with his wife. The preacher spoke his "good morning" jovially, carrying bowl in one hand and bible in the other, pulling out a chair across from Zoe and sitting straight-backed as always. He heard Kaylee's laugh coming from the engine room, and she appeared a short time later, pulling River in tow. Both had great big smiles on their faces until the shorter one noticed Jayne standing at the other end of the room.

Tension gripped the room as if a shot had suddenly gone off. Kaylee's smile faltered as she saw River go completely deadpan. Jayne attempted a smile as a greeting, and his lips twitched up in response. River lowered her eyebrows, then turned away from him, not acknowledging him any further. Jayne copied her expression and stalked off for the kitchen. Kaylee looked frantically from one to the other, wondering what had just happened. Simon entered the room just after them, looking about. River suddenly brightened, and she bounded to her brother.

"Good morning, Simon," she said excitedly, hugging him close. The doctor looked about in surprise.

"Good morning, River." He smiled as she detached from him. "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."

She nodded in response. "Much better."

Jayne wondered why he felt uncharacteristically heated as he glared at the two of them. The way she whirled around him, skirt billowing out, giggling, was too gorram adorable, and he doled himself a bowl of substitute oatmeal with a furrowed brow. She chatted excitably to her brother about the physics of somesuch, and Jayne sat down heavily across the table from them, beside Wash. The pilot glanced clandestinely from one to the other, then focused very hard on his breakfast.

The merc was practically burning a hole in the side of the doctor's head. Only Wash seemed to take notice, but Jayne wouldn't have minded if everyone present watched as he set Simon's head on fire with his brain. He and the doc never got along, and setting heads on fire seemed the next natural progression. He huffed, grumbled and growled his way through breakfast, feeling odd just watching River smiling and hugging on Simon like that. He didn't know why it bit at him so, and therefore tried to ignore it. But with every note of her voice so bright as she spoke to her brother, Jayne found another reason to stab the man in the eye. _Right_ in those girly eyes of his. When he'd finished, he slammed the bowl into the sink and stalked right off again. He couldn't stand to be in that room, or he might actually _try_ to set something on fire.

Only it didn't stop at breakfast. Everywhere he went, the Tams were there too, connected at the arms as they strode together. Simon didn't seem to care if what his sister was saying made any sort of sense--he just smiled right on back with his too-white teeth. Jayne felt that un-Jayne burning on the back of his neck somewhere as he passed them all snuggled up and sibling-like. The captain tried to get his attention five times before he had to punch Jayne on the shoulder to pry his eyes away from the Tams. It was downright embarrassing, and he grudgingly followed Mal to whatever needed doing so badly. But his mind wasn't on his work. It was stuck on that mental image of River smiling so happily up at Simon. He nearly broke his arm tripping down a staircase because of that.

With Jayne acting so very un-Jayne-like, a general concern affected all of four people: Wash, Kaylee, Inara and Shepherd Book. Only two of them seemed to really be able to pinpoint exactly what was driving the man batty. And only one of them actually had the initiative to ask what was wrong.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with me," Jayne growled, hefting another box of cargo from one spot on the cargo bay's floor to the hidey-hole Mal was so fond of.

Inara didn't like that answer. "Jayne, you practically broke yourself falling down the stairs today. You're not exactly the most graceful person on the ship, but you've never fallen down _stairs_ before."

"Once when the Doc drugged me up without tellin' me," he grumbled back. Another reason to kill Simon slowly in his sleep. Inara also didn't like that look in his eye, and followed doggedly.

"Did you say something to River?" she asked at last. Jayne growled and shut the hatch to the smuggling compartment without answering. "I'm _trying_ to help you."

"You're _tryin'_ t' find a reason t' string me up by my man-parts and skin me raw, that's what you're doin'."

"If you said something--"

"She said that idiot brother a' hers was upset," he said at last. "And I told 'er I'd be upset if I was him, too." Before Inara could start complaining, he continued. "Didn't mean it t' sound like that, though. I meant..." He got this funny look in his eye, and Inara took it that he was actually trying to _think_. "Well, y'know, if I was her brother we couldn't..." He suddenly seemed very occupied with something on the ground by his feet.

The companion cross her arms and sighed. "River is a very smart girl, Jayne--"

"Ruttin' genius," he corrected.

"--but maybe 'Jayne-speak' is something she doesn't understand. Sometimes... you have to be blunt with a woman, no matter how many times she confuses you. Sometimes she just wants to hear exactly what you're thinking."

He contemplated her words, which was something she wasn't expecting. When he looked up, she was baffled by the actual thoughtfulness behind his eyes. "'Spect you're right, 'Nara." With that, he shoved himself away from the wall near the smuggling niche and took off up the stairs. Inara had to sit down to take it all in: Jayne had actually _listened_ to her, and he'd actually had a rational _thought_.

He hoped to find her brotherless, which was a long-shot. And when he did find her, there she was, latched onto Simon's side. All three stopped dead in the middle of the corridor, staring at one another. Jayne looked once at River, stopped himself, then cleared his throat.

"Doc, 'Nara needs ya down in the hangar."

"Why, is something wrong?" His doctor instinct flared up suddenly. Jayne shrugged.

"Don't know, but she was actin' awfully sluggish."

Simon glanced at River, who suddenly looked like a lost puppy, then back to Jayne. "Look after River for a minute, won't you? Hopefully she's just a little woozy and nothing serious, but it can't hurt to check." He kissed River atop her head, muttering, "Be right back, _mei mei_." Jayne nodded stiffly to show he wasn't going anywhere, and Simon took off back toward the cargo bay. This left River and Jayne staring at each other, alone in the hallway.

"Is this not upsetting?" River spoke first, on Jayne being alone with River. "That Jayne is just a substitute for Simon?"

"Quiet for a second, would ya?" He asked, knowing that time in the corridor could be short. "All this ain't fair and you know it."

"All of what?" she asked, suddenly looking cornered.

"You. And the Doc. It all ain't fair."

"He is my brother."

"And he had his turn!" Jayne finally couldn't keep his voice low any further. "It's _my_ turn now!" She could only stare blankly up at him, surrounded in the red of his outburst. "He had ya all his gorram life, and I think it's 'bout time someone else had a chance!"

"And Jayne..."

"Jayne wants it t' be _his_ turn!" He seemed out of breath, and his shoulders sagged after having said his piece. "Gorramit," he breathed, looking away. He mussed his hair nervously with one hand. "Can't get ya outta my ruttin' head, little bear. Like you're peanut butter stuck on the roof a' my mouth or somethin'."

He'd almost given up hope when River's cool hand cupped his hot cheek and pulled him back to face her. She inspected his eyes, as if she wasn't believing what her brain was telling her.

"She doesn't upset Jayne?"

"Hell no," he clarified. "Maybe y' confuse me sometimes, but not upset. Not once."

She smiled, then. That smile he'd been looking for all day. It brought a wide grin to his own face, and all the red that surrounded him suddenly disappeared at that smile. She was holding his face in both hands suddenly, caressing his face and neck and just smiling.

"Truth? All truth, and no lies? Too many lies in her head already, can't stand any more lies."

"Ain't no lies, _ni zi_, honest. Blunt 'n truthful."

She stood on her toes suddenly and peppered him with quick kisses all over his face. "My truthful _hui xiong_, never lies, not upset, no more red." One more long kiss to his lips, and she pulled away quickly. "Simon," she muttered, still only an inch from him, eyes wide.

"She seemed a little flustered, but--" Simon had suddenly appeared again in the corridor, rolling one shoulder, and he looked up just as he rounded the corner. River had yet to take her hands from the sides of Jayne's face, and both were staring at him with a deer-in-headlights look that would scare any weaker man. Simon paused, looking from one to the other with concern growing with each second. River suddenly dropped her hands to her side.

"Jayne had something in his teeth," she said with complete nonchalance that even a companion might have trouble pulling off. Jayne nodded, afraid to trust his mouth in this situation. River smiled and floated waif-like to Simon's side. "Please continue narrating on the case you left off on, Simon. I am very interested." They were very, very lucky that Simon was distracted by River's lie and her plead to hear more of his heroics in the ER. Simon glanced concernedly over his shoulder at Jayne as they left, then continued on their merry way. Jayne sighed in relief and was off in the opposite reaction before Simon could even consider coming back and questioning him.

The tension was gone at dinner, both Wash and Inara were pleased to find, and they were back to being sneaky and clandestine. The secret-keepers kept their lips sealed when Jayne cut off a big piece of his protien cake and set it on River's plate. When the merc and the girl exchanged that little glance, Inara knew that whatever Jayne had rushed off to say had sealed the tear--whatever it had been. That glance just gave the two secret-keepers another chance to wonder what the hell everyone else was so occupied with that they couldn't see what was right under their noses.

* * *

AN: Huh. These just seem to keep getting longer and longer as I keep going... I hope that's not a problem? I got a little stuck on this one halfway through, but I worked some stuff around in the middle and I feel like it really works now. Maybe not my favorite so far, but envy!Jayne was very much fun to write. Hope y'all like and continue to be awesome to me! Much love, and have a good Memorial Day weekend! 


	5. Honesty

**Honesty**

"How long do you think they're gonna hold up?" Wash took a gauging look at the tiny round teacup in his hands, sniffing the scented steam rising with a pleased expression. Inara shrugged helplessly as she sat beside him on the cushioned seats in her shuttle.

"I don't know," she sighed, looking also into the teacup, as if it might offer them some wisdom. "She seems so happy right now, and if he does something stupid... I _will_ hurt that man."

Wash had been staring oddly at his cup, then looked up at Inara with a flustered expression. "What? Oh, those two? They'll be fine. I was talking about my nerves." He took a tentative sip of tea, wincing at the temperature. "Literally, they are _shot_. Not only am I the pilot of this bird, but now I'm bearing this soul-crushing secret on my back like some macabre secret-turtle. I'm not an attractive turtle, Inara."

"I'm sure you are," Inara returned with a smile. She faltered after another moment, then set her teacup down on the table before her. "Wash, I feel so helpless in all of this." The pilot watched her carefully, judging the situation, then set his teacup down to match hers.

"I don't want to sound like I'm trying to one-up you, here," he said, taking on a brotherly stance beside her, "but that's kind of the point." She flashed him a look to show that she wasn't quite sure what he was getting at. "Well," he started, running fingers through blond hair, "when you think about it, it's our job to sit on the outside and keep everyone else out, isn't it? We're like Jayne and River's door wards. Like... like--"

"I think that's enough metaphors for now," Inara offered with another smile. "I think I know what you mean..."

"I wasn't sure a companion--" He broke off on purpose. "What I mean is... This tea is _really_ good." He reached down to take another sip, wincing again as it hadn't cooled down. He smacked his lips, contemplating. "Being together is different from being _together_, is all I'm trying to say." Inara took his words into her with a placid expression, but she knew his internal meaning. She had no real right to judge relationships when she herself hadn't had one to speak of. It sounded harsh to anyone that didn't know what they were talking about, but Inara knew it was right and just, and she took it to heart.

"Thank you, Wash."

"I do what I can." A pause, and he swirled the tea in his cup. He tried his tea again, and gritted his way to a smile. "This stuff never cools down, does it?"

"Wash, do you think we should... _do_ something for them?"

"Are we plotting now? I like plotting. Scheming is even better if we can pull that off. I'm all in, whatever it is."

They shared bright, wide smiles, then returned to their tea, speaking in low voices. The crew of _Serenity_ wouldn't know what hit them.

"You're kidding," Mal would say later, staring straight in the pilot's face. Wash shook his head, shrugging and trying his best to look surprised.

"Honest, Mal, I had no part in this." He waved a general hand at the scenery before them as they stood in the cockpit. "Does this look like my fault?"

"What it looks like," Mal grumbled, daring to step closer, "is _not_ Persephone. I want to be on _Persephone_, Wash. Does this in any way, shape or form resemble Persephone?"

"You know, now that you say something..." Wash rolled his eyes. "We're low on supplies, and they're gonna be cheaper here than on Persephone and you know it."

"I don't _want_ t' stock up here," Mal persisted, pointing angrily at the impressive vista meeting them out the front windows. "Where am I gonna stock up in the middle of the gorram mountains, Wash? Do the little forest gnomes have the protein and the ammo that we need that we couldn't get on Persephone for the same price? Or are our gnome friends a little more generous than that?"

"Actually, they prefer 'dwarves,' I think," Wash mused. Mal looked ready to hit something, preferably with his gun. Wash surrendered, holding up both hands. "There's a town right at the foot of these hills, and I know for a fact they have protein, ammo, and a complete lack of gnomes."

"I find _one _gnome down there, Wash..." Mal threatened him with a finger jabbed at his face.

"What the hell you two spattin' about now?" Jayne grumbled, shielding his eyes from the sunlight as he stepped into the cockpit.

"Gnomes," Wash said succinctly.

"Dwarves," Mal corrected as he strode angrily out into the corridor. Jayne watched him go with a raised eyebrow, then turned back to Wash.

"Swear the two a' you were married if you weren't sharin' a bunk with Zoe."

"He _is_ rather charming," Wash muttered sarcastically. He wondered how he should go about talking to Jayne now that he was their secret-turtle. He glanced at him sideways, then did a nonchalant little shrug and a stretch. "You know, there's this really great trail down into the valley from these hills. It's a little hard to see where you're going around all the trees, and easy to get _lost_. You might need to take a _buddy_."

Jayne gave him the oddest look imaginable. "Why the hell would I wanna go out and get myself--"

"_Lost_ for a while? Oh, I don't know... Maybe some _time_ to think, look at the _scenery_." Wash didn't know if he was using enough emphasis on words to still count as subtlety. "With your _buddy_."

The thought mulled itself around in Jayne's head, and Wash could practically see the thought process. The merc's eyebrows furrowed, and he shook his head.

"Don't know what you're gettin' at." He looked over his shoulder to make sure Mal was gone, then turned to the pilot again. "Me and the _ni zi_ are headin' down the mountain. Make somethin' up."

He was gone as Wash muttered, "Yes, because taking _my_ suggestion would just be silly."

Their excuse came as the group of them headed down the trail. River had seen an actual firefly in the dimming light, and she'd bounded off into the gathering mist. Simon started after her, but Jayne held him back. Offering his services to find the girl, knowing the mist of the valley could be treacherous for the spindly, fragile doctor, the merc took off right after her. Wash and Inara didn't have time to exchange a knowing glance when the party decided to turn back to the ship as night descended. Zoe and Wash remained at the point of their disappearance to make sure they knew where to go when they returned.

She was waiting for him in the cool mist. He'd stumbled slightly over a root and almost crashed right into her. She'd somehow managed to steady him on his feet, her little hands resting on his broad shoulders. She was looking up at him like she was a deer that'd been caught, big soulful eyes peering up, asking... something.

He didn't have to ask anything. She lifted so easily up to his mouth now, and she didn't even mind her back against the tree. Thank goodness for the obscuring fog of the valley; she didn't want Simon to see, not yet. She pulled herself even closer on him, hooking a leg up against his waist then dragging it back down purposefully. Jayne made an odd sound in his throat, then latched his fingers onto her thigh, pulling it back up around his waist. She didn't even stop to ponder, just pulled herself further into his kiss.

"Jayne," she muttered, cupping the sides of his face with her hands. He responded simply by prying her mouth open with his and tasting her again. She shivered in the grip of his big hands and let him in.

Oh, how hard they hoped that no one had sent out a second search party.

She'd somehow ended up lying on her back, staring up at Jayne, her face red and hot. He was straddled over her, his shirt discarded by her own shaking white hands. She now realized that two of the buttons down the front of her dress were undone, and she felt even more blood rush to her face. Jayne was staring down at her with a mix of emotions, half of which seemed to be concern. She caught her breath, which seemed to be thudding very fast in her lungs. She was suddenly aware of everything, and she was half-glad to find that Jayne still had his pants on--quite a feat for a man of his renown. One hand was dug into the hair on his chest, with his heart beating quickly underneath.

"You all right?" he muttered lowly. She wondered what she'd said to make him look like someone had kicked a puppy nearby. She could feel his thoughts invading her head, and she blushed at the very mention of them. He didn't take them back, however, and she liked him for that. She shook her head at last, holding her hand on the back of his neck gently.

"Not yet," she murmured in reply to his thoughts. He seemed a little embarrassed at that, remembering suddenly that she could see every thought in his head if she wanted to. She shook her head again, feeling more worn out than she should have. "Not ready yet."

He hovered over her, and the cogs in his mind turned. At last, defeat took over, and he slumped visibly. Without a word, he was off of her and lying in the cool grass beside her. A long, heavy sigh heaved through him, and he turned his head to look at her.

"All right, little bear. I hear ya." He shut his eyes in reminiscence. "Sure was nice, though, weren't it?"

"Alone with Jayne," she murmured pleasantly, closing her eyes as well. "No sneaking, well-meaning Simon in the woods." She shivered again, this time from the descending cold that falling night had brought. Jayne peeked at her through one eye, then wordlessly sat up, grabbed his holey jacket and draped it over her. He lay back down without even acknowledging he'd done it. She smiled as she felt the familiar soft fabric under her fingers. She slipped the jacket over her slim arms, not amazed at how large it was on her.

She wiggled silently closer until she was nuzzled flush against his side. He slid an arm under and around her, keeping her solid there. Both breathed out at the same time, looking up past the tall treetops at the dark black above. The first stars had started to come out, and dotted the sky with bright light. The twin moons, one waning and the other full, hung like eyes in the sky and shone through the hanging mist.

River's hand suddenly shout out, pointing straight at the sky. "There," she said quietly. As soon as she'd said it, a streak shot across the sky and disappeared almost as quickly. She sat up, staring at where the shooting star had just been, then turned to look down at the man beside her. "Must tell the truth."

"What?" He looked from the sky to the big brown eyes staring at him in the darkness. "I ain't been lyin'."

"On Earth-that-was," River started, looking off into the wood, "when one saw a falling star, one must share one truth with that who witnessed the star's fall as well. Jayne must tell a truth."

"What's t' say _you_ ain't gotta tell a truth?"

She smiled, white against the surrounding darkness, and leaned down to kiss him sweetly right on the mouth. She almost pulled him with her when she pulled back, which caused her a bright giggle. Jayne propped himself up on one elbow to match her just a bit, then looked up at the sky.

"Right, ya convinced me. What d'you wanna know? 'Sides," he pointed to his head, "not like you can't tell if I'm lyin' anyway."

"How many women has Jayne bedded?"

He stared blinking at her for quite some time, then cleared his throat embarrassedly. "Don't know if I could count that with all the fingers 'n toes on _Serenity_, little bear."

"Tell me," she said plainly, running fingers through the hair on his chest. He squirmed a little under her touch.

"I dunno," he admitted. "They all kinda blur t'gether, y'know?"

"I do not know. Never shared a bed. Never been sexed."

It took obvious control not to act impulsively for Jayne at that moment. He tried to keep his gaze on her neck and above. River smiled as she tipped his chin up to face her in the eye.

"Not ready yet," she said one more time. Moving on quickly, "Something simpler. How many women has Jayne loved?"

The question was _not_ simpler, Jayne decided, and needed serious thought. He contemplated and contemplated, trying to be as serious as she wanted him to be. He ran thoughtful fingers across his goatee, then looked up at her again once he'd decided on an answer.

"Don't know if I ever loved anyone but my ma. Not like... Well, I mean." He growled a frustrated sigh. "Don't much like talkin' 'bout it."

"I will be honest with Jayne, if Jayne is honest with me." He smiled at the idea, then plopped again to his back in the grass.

"I ain't never loved one a' the girls I went t' bed with. Didn't seem like the kinda girls ya fall in love with, I guess. Hafta find the right one one a' these days."

A heavy silence took the clearing, and they noticed that the fog was beginning to dissipate as the night deepened. The stars were brighter in the clear, cool sky and the night noises were sounding all over the forest. River's hand in his hair brought him back to reality with a jolt. She was smiling again.

"Jayne's turn."

"Right, right..." He searched his head for any questions that he simply needed answers for, and he was surprised when he found none. He shrugged once, then glanced up at her pretty eyes. "Y'ever kiss a fella 'sides me?"

He couldn't believe the clarity of her laugh, echoing off of the close trees and even the bright sky. He stared wide-eyed in admiration at the way her face scrunched up when she laughed like that, how sparkly her eyes got, and how she could make his stomach drop out just like that. She finally shook her head.

"Mother never allowed boys. Too young, too smart, boys would take advantage of her, make her stupid in the head, make her forget to think." She ran fingers over Jayne's face. "Makes her stupid in the head, sometimes."

He honestly didn't know what to say to that.

Some time later, they'd decided that staying out too long might raise suspicion. Jayne found his shirt and slipped it back over his head, straightening himself as best he could. He took hold of her wrist and dragged her after him as if he'd just caught her. He was surprised when he found Zoe and Wash waiting on the trail where they'd left. Both stood as River and Jayne reappeared, the two returning looking as frustrated as possible with Zoe present.

"Ruttin' girl's more trouble'n she's worth," Jayne growled as he pulled River after him. She pouted, stuck out her tongue and pouted some more. When Jayne looked up at Wash, he could see the look of horror on the pilot's face, then the single raised eyebrow Zoe sported. Jayne's heart sank into his stomach as he realized what they were looking at.

They were looking at River. She had grass in her hair. Her two top buttons were still undone, exposing her pretty collarbone and just a little too much underneath that. Worst of all, he suddenly found, she was still wearing his jacket. She grinned at him, a little guiltily. He turned back to Wash and Zoe, feeling a hand through his own hair and finding grass stuck there as well.

Wash was mouthing 'we are dead' over Zoe's shoulder.

"Jayne?" Zoe started deadpan as usual. He felt his death imminent. Of anyone on the ship, Zoe would be the first to tell Mal, and then Simon, and then... space.

"Yeah, Zoe?" He asked, standing as tall as he could in this situation.

"You can stop actin' like I don't know why you two went off galavantin' in the woods." She stood with her arms akimbo a few feet away, staring with a cross between motherly concern and fiery obstinacy at the two of them. Jayne and River stood absolutely still, then Jayne leaned down to her level.

"I could shoot 'er," he mumbled in the girl's ear. River laughed.

"No," she said calmly back. "Zoe will not tell the captain."

"How can y' tell?"

"Because I said I wouldn't," Zoe said back, a smile twitching onto her lips. Jayne looked back to the woman, realizing now that he was holding rather tightly to River's hand but not thinking to let go.

"You have _no_ idea what she can hold over my head," Wash said at last, looking quite guilty.

"I think I got an idea." Jayne rolled his eyes. Zoe shushed him with one heavy glare.

"I'm with Inara on this," she told him in a dead tone. Jayne glared at Wash.

"Y told 'er _everything_?!"

"I like _sleeping_ with my wife!" Wash threw up his arms in surrender.

"I'm with Inara--" Zoe spoke louder to get her voice over theirs. Both men shut up immediately. "--in that I'll skin you alive if y' make that girl cry, Jayne."

River smirked brightly up at Jayne. He stared at Zoe like she was an oncoming train. If anyone was actually going to skin him alive, it was gonna be Zoe.

"I don't like secrets, Jayne," Zoe told him, like a scolding mother. "Don't like makin' 'em and I don't like keepin' 'em. Secrets don't help no one, and end up causin' a lot 'a hurtin'. You want all that?"

"Just don't want the Cap'n shootin' me dead first chance 'e gets. He's been lookin' for an excuse--" _Ever since Ariel_. River squeezed his hand tight at the thought, and his fingers squeezed back instinctively.

"You can't keep somethin' like this a secret forever."

"Ain't plannin' on livin' forever," Jayne grumbled back. Wash stifled a quick laugh, and even Zoe's lips twitched as if in imitation of a smile.

"I ain't tellin' the captain," the woman said at last, "just so long as it's _you_ that tells him when time comes t' tell."

Jayne wondered if this was a trick question. He glanced down at River, who nodded, looking all adorable and sleepy. "All right," he conceded, then wordlessly scooped the girl up in his arms. "Gotta get this little runaway t' bed. More trouble'n she's worth."

"Right you are, Jayne," Zoe conceded. All three turned back for the ship, River nuzzled cozily against Jayne and Wash holding tightly to the hand of his wife.

Explanations were quick as they came back to the ship. Jayne was exceptionally glad that Zoe was on his side, as she seemed to be the best at making up excuses that acted legitimate. Something about River having climbed a tree and Jayne having to climb up after her. There was lots of tangling and some falling on his part involved, and he was supposedly very miffed about the whole thing. He put on his angry mask and that seemed to do the trick. It fooled just about everyone but River.

Simon was already asleep in the other bed across the way. River said that she could feel his nervousness in her own stomach, and she felt uneasy as Jayne lowered her down into bed. She kissed him warmly to rid the thoughts from his mind, which always worked.

"All the stars in their right places," she murmured, falling back into her pillow and closing her eyes. A little sigh, and she did that cute little smile he was getting quite fond of.

As Wash took off later that night, he smirked over his shoulder at Zoe and Inara, who had both joined him in the cockpit. They felt important, holding something as big as this captive in their minds. And while they didn't like to openly admit it to anyone, it was nice to finally see something _good_ happening for the two of them, for once. Rolling one shoulder importantly, Wash flicked three switches overhead and leaned back with a heroic sigh.

"That went well."

* * *

AN: Hey everyone, it's me again! I feel like I'm kinda getting a feel for Wash with this one, and I hope I'm not alone in that. Now that we have three secret-keepers, whatever shall they do? I dunno, but I really like this trio supporting River and Jayne because they're non-conventional. I hope they work... And I hope I'm still getting all the steps right. Heres to you, all you awesome people out there who keep me going with your reviews and support. Now, time for another vice and s'more coffee. I'll see y'all later, and enjoy! 


	6. Gluttony

**Gluttony**

Malcolm Reynolds had never seen so much food about to go to waste in his life. He'd gathered everyone in the galley, and they all stared down upon the inevitable ruin before them. Shepherd looked like he was about to start praying any time now. Wash felt sure there was a law somewhere against all this food just sitting there being wasted. Jayne actually removed his hat as he stared down at the precious food, as if attending a funeral. Simon shook his head in disapproval, looking from the captain to the first mate.

"Would ya mind tellin' me again why I'm starin' down at all this pretty food about t' go to waste, Kaylee?" Mal asked. The mechanic looked like she was about to be sick. Or cry. Maybe both.

"_Serenity_ ain't talkin', Cap'n. Coolant system just... shut down."

"Isn't there anything you bought that _wasn't_ perishable?" Inara asked, swishing in through the door. Mal glared a hole in the table where all the beautiful real food was spread.

"A few back-up protein meals, some grains and whatnot. But, basically, what y'all see before you here is meant t' be stored in a cool, climate-controlled condition. Since we ain't got that," he tried not to glare at Kaylee, "all this food is bound t' go bad sooner rather than later." He picked up one of the small cartons of milk--_real_ milk--with a defeated look in his eye. "Best estimate, most of it'll be worthless in under a day or so. Best-case, Kaylee here fixes the coolant system before that and we end up savin' what we can." He put the milk back on the table with a sour look. "Spent some shiny pennies on this lot, and it's makin' me feel rather violent right now. You got any idea on what you can do with the coolant, Kaylee?"

"Not a smidge, Cap'n," the woman admitted, looking just as defeated as he. "I ain't never seen _Serenity_ this sick, discountin' the time she tried t' set us on fire and freeze us t' death."

"It's good to know _someone_ is always optimistic," Wash grinned, taking an apple in one hand and glancing over at the captain. "So, what are we gonna do while Kaylee tries to fix the system?"

"Start with what'll go fastest," Mal said as he moved around the table, surveying it. "Milk'll go bad in 'bout two hours if the galley stays hot as it is. 'Spose the Shepherd could pick a few things and start on an early supper. Other than that, I need to make sure none a' this goes bad. Rotten food sticks in a ship like this, and she stinks for weeks. I run a respectable ship here--" Inara laughed haughtily, ignored by Mal, "--and I don't want it smellin' like our coolant system shut down and we had to eat all our ruttin' food."

A general pause, and Jayne cocked an eyebrow at the captain.

"But ain't that what happened?"

"Think of that by yourself?" River asked, shooting him an interesting look over her shoulder. He scowled in return, crossing his arms.

"Ribbing aside," Book interjected before anything could get heated as he stepped forward. "I'll get dinner started with what I can use. I suggest everyone take a little something to help." He reached down and picked the apple out of Wash's hand. "Fruit will go last. Other perishables should be taken care of quickly before they spoil." He looked to Mal for confirmation, and he nodded.

Book gathered what he needed from the gathered foodstuffs, helped by Simon. Jayne grabbed one of the milk cartons, glaring about and claiming it as his own by flicking off the lid and chugging down a few good swallows and thumping down into a chair. Kaylee pondered over a the strawberries sitting out, but Shepherd had been adamant on fruits. So she grabbed a few slices of good deli meat and was off into the belly of the ship to see what she could do for her old friend. Wash and Zoe took a few handfuls of what needed freezing and hightailed it to the cockpit to eat what they could in peace. Inara peered down at the offerings questioningly.

"How do we know any of this wasn't past its original shelf-life in the first place?"

"We don't," Jayne said usefully beside her as he reached one of his big paws out and took the rest the meat Kaylee had left and started stuffing it into his mouth. "No tellin' wah's sittn' ou' an' wha's goo' 'n fresh." Inara curled her lip at him, looking rightfully disgusted.

"Mouth closed, Jayne," River instructed, closing his jaw with one of her hands. He stared at her incredulously, and she smirked like she knew exactly what she was doing. He batted her hand lightly away from his jaw, not sure what to make of her.

"Jayne eats how Jayne feels like eatin'." To show this, he reached for the fresh fish that'd just been cleaned and gutted as they'd bought it. River's tiny hand shot out and grabbed it before he could, shoving it in her own mouth. She set an example by chewing silently with her mouth closed tight.

"Proper dining etiquette," she said as she'd finished chewing, sitting down directly beside Jayne. "Salad fork first. Work your way in from the outside. Napkin on the lap. No elbows on the table. Chew with your mouth closed." Something about the look she gave him as the last line left her made something go all strange and fuzzy in his head, and he stopped mid-chew with mouth slightly ajar. Something about that gleam in her eye told him that's exactly the reaction she wanted out of him.

"Mouth closed, Jayne," she said more pointedly, then reached out again to take more perishable food from the table.

This time, however, it was Jayne that thwarted her, his own big hand stealing the second fillet of fish right out from under her hand. He stuffed it quickly into his mouth, cheeks puffing out at the added mass, and chewed purposefully. Mouth _closed_.

Simon's eyebrows drew down as he watched from the kitchen, watching for any nuance in their eyes as they stared each other down at the table. It only took another moment for the Shepherd to notice that there was no longer any movement from the merc and the girl. Inara backed away, honestly afraid of what might happen. Might they actually explode?

"Oh, it's _on_, crazy."

"Deal has been struck." The girl stuck out her pinky, divulging nothing on her features. Jayne linked his pinky with hers sharply, and they shook on it. "Dishes."

He shook his head. "Dinner."

"Agreed." They released hands, and Jayne quickly removed his gloves. River stood from the chair, flowing to the other side of the table, seating herself with a flourish. They stared each other down over the pile of fine organic foods, neither one making a move.

"What is going on?" The Shepherd asked impatiently, moving out of the kitchen to stand beside Inara. Jayne and River didn't even look up. Inara leaned her head toward Book confidentially.

"A contest of some sort, I think. There's been a wager set--"

"GO!" River shouted at once, and two sets of hands flashed out to grab whatever they could get a hold on in front of them. Jayne stuffed what he could in his mouth, then prepared both hands with replacements once he was able to swallow. River copied him, shoving a whole peach between her teeth and grabbing at whatever else she could fit her fingers around. She held uncracked walnuts between each finger of one hand. Book winced, about to step forward.

"Not the fruit--"

Surprisingly, it was Simon that stopped him with a hand on his shoulder. "Wait a moment. This is simultaneously disgusting and fascinating."

Inara shied away even further, pressing against Simon's side in attempts to move as far away from the grotesque sight of Jayne stuffing his face. "Oh, it's revolting!"

Jayne wasn't paying any attention to any of them. He was glancing between the food and the girl across the way, whose gaze never faltered. She effortlessly matched him in stride without ever looking away from his eyes. It was unnerving and a little bit of a turn on at the same time. At his thoughts, she grinned widely and continued to eat.

It was an odd dance, but the three watchers somehow couldn't turn away. After a scary minute of watching in silence, Wash and Zoe appeared to see what was making all of the unsightly noise in the galley. Wash reeled backward in terror at the sight of Jayne tearing into a side of ham and seeming to stare right through the girl across from him. Zoe turned questioningly to Inara.

"What exactly's goin' on here, Inara?"

"Well," Inara still looked disgusted, but in a can't-look-away-from-a-space-wreck kind of way. "I think River and Jayne challenged each other to... an eat-off."

"Oh, she's gonna beat him," Wash said quickly. All sets of watching eyes were upon him for a moment, and he started at the sudden attention. "What?" He gestured at the eaters. "Look at that girl! She's an eating machine! She has to have... _compartments_ or something, the way she's packing it away!"

"This can't have been something the Academy..." Simon looked baffled and horrified and yet somehow completely enthralled in the exchange, like it was something for him to put under a microscope and scrutinize. He mussed his hair slightly in thought, one eyebrow pulling down and the other raising with a widening eye in mixed horror and amazement.

"Look at her go," Kaylee murmured as she appeared in the doorway, holding the toolbox. Simon glanced at her, then back to Jayne and River.

The two had continued scarfing as much as seemed possible, whittling the pile down to nearly nothing. While Jayne's side of the table seemed a site of complete destruction, River's side was somehow almost immaculately clean. She dug her hand into the last bag of nuts, all unshelled thankfully, and stuffed them into her mouth. Jayne growled around the last of the slab of ham and matched her by ripping into one of the apples. Intensity was written across both faces, and suddenly Simon became worried.

Both hands shot out for the same bowl of strawberries. Kaylee gasped, throwing hands to her lips. Jayne gripped one edge of the bowl, while River held fast to the opposite edge. They stared each other down, neither one budging. Finally, River gave a jerk to bring it closer to her.

"Saw it first."

"I got my paws on it first," Jayne objected, tugging it back in his direction.

She frowned, jerking it to her. Jayne tugged it back to him. They struggled with the bowl of strawberries, Kaylee following its every move with a look of shocked terror in her pretty eyes. River finally stood, trying to get a better grip on the bowl. When Jayne stood to match her, the chair fell clattering to the ground under him.

"Get your own strawberries!" River demanded. "Mine! Saw them first!"

"Ain't your gorram strawberries!" He countered. This time, he tugged the bowl so hard, it brought River flying up onto the table, scattering what they hadn't yet eaten. Simon started, looking ready to punch Jayne right in the face. Inara gasped and instinctively grabbed hold of Simon's shoulder. River sat on her knees on the table, glaring forward at Jayne and trying to regain control on the strawberries.

Then, both of them simultaneously realized that they'd somehow managed to end up literally an inch from one another. The anger held in their eyes only momentarily, as they remembered it was only superficial, and it melted right off of the both of them. The strawberry bowl dropped to the table with a clatter, but didn't break. It took all of Kaylee's strength not to leap forward and rescue the fruit. Jayne and River continued their stare down for entirely too long, neither moving or even blinking.

Wash honestly thought Jayne was going to sweep away the rest of the food and just have his way with her right there on the table.

Then, River gave a pained expression and clutched her stomach. She sat back on the table, falling away from Jayne and groaned slightly. Jayne's face was still unreadable, and he felt like he couldn't move. Simon rushed in, breaking the moment, to bring his sister down from the table. Activity around them suddenly resumed as everyone rushed to River's side. They moved around him, an astonished island in the middle of a quickly-moving river, as they swarmed around her.

He sat heavily, thinking his chair was still underneath him. He tumbled to the floor with a crash, thumping his head hard on the table in front of him. Everyone jumped at the noise, and Zoe was there in place of the doctor.

"Sweet flyin' gorram!" Jayne cursed and grumbled as Zoe helped him to his feet. He held one big hand flat against his head, wincing and wobbling. River looked up at him, practically doubled over in stomach pangs. Despite their individual concerns, both managed a short little smile for the other, then went back to groaning and complaining as if nothing had happened.

River was shifted to her room, so close to the infirmary, where Simon tucked her in and left a pan beside the bed should she decide to vomit somewhere besides his bed. The doctor then checked on Jayne's non-serious albeit hilarious head wound and gave him a small painkiller. The merc grumbled as he dry-swallowed the little pills. He waited a moment, until Simon's back was turned, to try to nonchalantly toss off a question. He was none too good at it.

"So, uh... How's your sister? Still complainin' 'cause I won?"

Simon glanced over his shoulder at the man, sneering just slightly in his polite Simon way.

"I consider this completely your fault," Simon said as he headed for the door. Jayne just had to defend himself.

"She's the one lookin' at me all moonbrained."

"She's just a girl," he said at last, turning to Jayne with an exasperated look about him. "She's smart, she's a little bit crazy, and she's still just a girl, Jayne. She's not the captain. She can't go around having--" A frustrated note entered his voice, "--_eating contests_ with someone whose _capacity_ clearly outweighs her own."

"You callin' me fat?"

"I'm saying _don't_." He didn't know why, but Simon felt he had to make a stand. "The next time you get one of your crazy Jayne-ideas, leave my sister out of it."

A smirk pulled Jayne's lips up, and he cross his arms casually. "Right. No more crazy Jayne-ideas for your crazy little sister."

Simon wasn't sure whether he was agreeing or not, and looked confused for another short moment before he wordlessly walked out of the infirmary. Jayne laughed silently at his retreating back, and stood not long after he'd gone. He gapped and stretched, his head feeling a might dizzy after that hit. Once out of the infirmary, Jayne glanced up the stairs to make sure no one was coming or going, then listened intently in the other passenger rooms. Nothing.

He approached the closed sliding doors, considered knocking, then just stood right outside. "Y' hear all that, _ni zi_?" He asked lowly.

The answer came just as low. She seemed to have crossed the room to the door, standing directly on the other side.

"Jayne is not fat," she offered quietly. He could feel her smile. "Fluffy."

"Am not," he growled back. "Jayne's tough. Anyone hears you callin' me fluffy, s'gonna look bad, y'know?"

"Worse than wanting to take her right there on the table?"

He couldn't answer. She'd shocked him silent. He opened his mouth a few times, found nothing, then closed it again bewilderedly.

"Y'know I... Y'see, the... Huh." He decided dropping the subject would be best. "You feelin' alright?"

"Better. Expelled what hurt. Looked better going down."

"Aw, hell," he grumbled, feeling exceptionally guilty. "I'll take your gorram turn at dinner."

"But Jayne won. Fair and square. Couldn't finish..."

"I couldn't finish neither," he said squarely before she could argue. "We're both full up t' our gorram eyeballs, and I said I'm gonna take your turn. Y' gonna argue?"

She paused, beautifully. "No."

"Good." He held a hand to the nasty bump on his head, then tapped his teeth in thought. Then, leaning closer to the closed door in a miniscule voice, he told her, "I woulda let ya have them strawberries."

He was gone up the stairs before River opened up the sliding door to go to him.

Jayne surprised everyone by showing back up in the galley and picking up after himself and River. He piled what food was left in the kitchen area as he wiped down the table, finishing off a half-eaten apple from her side. Book was finally done with dinner, and he stood in questioning amazement as the merc went about tossing things out and actually using a rag now and again. He plunked the apple core in with the rest of the trash, wiping his hands and looking satisfied. With that done, he scooped up the bowl of strawberries and lowered it down to Kaylee in the middle of maintenance. She squealed and hugged him and thanked him in two different languages before she and the strawberries disappeared.

"You broke him," Mal's voice suddenly came from nearby. Book looked up, as did Jayne and Wash, who had appeared at the smell of dinner. Mal looked from Wash to Book then back to Jayne. "You broke my ruttin' mercenary."

"I ain't broke," Jayne grumbled as he levered himself past Mal and sat at the table.

"Look at that! Did you see that?" Mal pointed Jayne out to Inara as she appeared. "This man was _helpful_! Preacher, better check t' see if that hell a' yours is frozen over, Jayne Cobb was_ helpful_!"

"Want me to 'batten down the hatches'?" Inara offered sarcastically as she walked right by Mal.

"Your sarcasm is noted and appreciated, 'Nara," Mal said calmly, then went back to pointing and exclaiming at Jayne.

The merc ignored him and stood up, making up an excuse to say he weren't hungry--which, by all means, he wasn't. He disappeared into his bunk, lying all still and trying to ignore what his stomach was screaming at him. Had he stayed in the galley for just one more minute, he would have laughed right out loud when Malcolm Reynolds shouted, "Where'd all my ruttin' food go?!"


	7. Serenity

**Serenity**

It was one of those "it's too quiet" moments that Mal was none-too-fond of. His ship was supposed to be a bundle of activity, bustling with movement, always astir with something or another. If things got too quiet, he was wont to get suspicious that something was going on that he didn't know about. And _nothing_ happened on his ship that he didn't know about.

He was making rounds to check to see if, in fact, something was going on under his nose he hadn't approved. Being mid-afternoon, everyone had already eaten and should be going about their own business. Wash was the first he found, trying to hide the fact he was playing with his dinosaurs in the cockpit. He asked Mal very nicely not to tell anyone about his weakness.

Kaylee was next, climbing out her bunk and looking far too spunky to be real. She tried to catch the captain in a conversation about the converter and if it could run a little faster if tweaked, but he kindly moved on, allowing her full run of the engine as he usually did.

Inara was in the kitchen, warming the water for her tea on the stove. He kept his mouth shut about the appointment she had later that day, as they'd set down in Persephone at last. She kept her mouth shut on being able to read him like a book, commenting instead on something trivial that supposedly set her off.

Shepherd Book was getting ready to go planetside, his bible tucked neatly under one arm. He claimed the need to buy a few personal amenities, and Mal left it plain at that. He didn't feel the need to dig into anyone's personal life as he scoured the ship for dissenters and secrets.

Zoe had gone out already, he was reminded as he passed through the cargo bay. She was to act as ambassador to Badger on Mal's behalf; the last they spoke, the dealer and the smuggler weren't on the best terms. Zoe went ahead to assure that Mal wouldn't be shot in the head upon his arrival. Badger wasn't the smartest or most pleasant of dealers, but often Mal had little choice.

He came across a flustered Jayne sitting idly in the waiting area across from the infirmary. He waved at Mal, trying to look convincingly occupied with something under his fingernail. The captain honestly didn't want to know. Jayne looked up as casually as possible.

"Hey, the Doc gone planetside?"

"Why, so you can pillage 'n raid your merry way through his stock _with_ his permission?" Mal obviously wasn't in the mood.

"Was thinkin' of goin' out myself, sooner or later. Didn't wanna have t' face his ugly mug in a crowd."

"Yeah, well, a certain ugly mug is crowdin' up my lounge and I'd rather have him outta sight if he's plannin' on doin' so himself."

"Aw, now, it ain't fair t' talk about the Doc behind his back like that, Mal. I think he likes it better when ya do it to his face." He flashed a trained grin. The captain was about to storm moodily off when Jayne spoke again. "If Doc's out, likely he took the _ni zi_ with him."

"Mighty cute nickname for your crazy, knife-wielding friend, ain't it?" Mal rounded on him, crossing his arms and squinting judgmentally.

"She's little, ain't she?" Jayne didn't miss a beat. "And I'm pretty gorram sure she's a girl, too, what with crawlin' all nekkid 'n crab-like outta that box..."

Mal pointed at him severely. "Hey! I don't want you thinkin' about _anybody_ on this boat naked, you hear me?"

"Hell, Zoe's married, and little Kaylee's clung mush t' that pussy doctor often as y' see her, and no offense, Mal, but ain't _any_ time I wanna think about _you_ nekkid..."

"Finish that thought and you're off my ship, _dong ma_?" Mal started walking for the staircase at an increased pace. "You go planetside, do it soon. Don't wanna think about you for a good long time, Jayne."

He listened closely to make sure Mal wasn't doubling back to insult him further, then leaned back to peer over the back of the sofa. "Coast's clear, little bear."

"Captain Reynolds is unclean," she commented as she rose from behind the couch with a sneer on her lips. "Objects of unknown origin, balls of dust and hair, strange smells and one lost checker." She held up the game piece and turned it over to inspect it. "Missing for too long; using an old nutshell in its place."

"Hey, I was wonderin' where that went." He snatched the red checker from her hand and stuck it in his pocket victoriously. He then reached back over and pulled River down on top of him, causing her to gasp and grip his shoulders tight. As she straddled him there on the couch, flushed by his sudden movement and releasing her death grip on him, she felt an odd sense of power come over her.

"Pinned," she muttered. He propped himself up on one elbow, the other hand anchored on her hip. With one hand, she pushed him quickly to lay flat on his back. He fell back with an 'oof' and looked up bewilderedly at the girl behind the waterfalls of dark hair. She inspected him just as she had inspected the checker piece, cocking her head. Finally, she ducked down, fingers pressed into his chest, to kiss him on the side of his neck.

He didn't know what to do with his hands. In fact, he wasn't sure what to do with anything. As she took another, longer kiss from the flesh of his neck, he could only rumble in a pleased way. She giggled at the way it reverberated through his chest under her fingers. So she did it again. By the third time she'd done this to him, she felt his fingers wrap around the back of her neck and thread through the hair there.

"River," he muttered without thinking. She paused, a little surprised, and she lifted her head only enough to look him straight in the eye.

"River," she repeated.

"That's your name, ain't it?" He felt slightly flummoxed.

"Never said it." She looked like she could start crying if she had to. "Never said her name. Always the little girl, always crazy, moonbrained, never River." She caressed his face with one of her hands.

"If y' don't want--"

"Say it again," she said quickly, as if he might change his mind.

A short paused before he smirked broadly. "River."

Her pretty smile was accompanied with an even prettier laugh, and she pulled one long, gracious kiss from him. It wasn't long before Kaylee made her approach, forcing the two elsewhere to remain undetected.

He wasn't quite sure of the circumstances that led up to him partaking of her lesson, but he was pretty sure it had something to do with her doing those puppy-dog eyes he couldn't deny. When Wash had laughed at the very idea of Jayne giving in to the puppy eyes, Jayne just _dared_ him not to melt when River got that sad doe look in her eyes. He failed the test.

One eye peeked open as furtively as he could manage, and River's hand clamped over his face to block his vision. He grumbled, shutting his eye once again and trying not to complain.

"Vision clouds the eye," she told him, right close to his ear. He smirked.

"S'awful hard t' get all relaxed-like with your pretty little voice in my ear, _ni zi_."

"Flattery is unnecessary in your training, Jayne." Nevertheless, she planted a kiss on his neck just below his ear. "Must focus. Listen to the ship, and hear her breathe with you. Keep calm and steady, and she will speak to you."

He sighed uselessly, feeling a bit like an idiot, with his knees folded under him indian-style. He compensated by crossing his arms indignantly. He peeked out again to see River sitting beside him in exactly the same manner, with the exception of her arms loose at her side. She breathed in all shallow and was deafeningly quiet. He examined her mannerisms, shut his eye again, and tried to focus, as she'd said.

It wasn't working. He was thinking about the pretty girl sitting beside him, the way her back curved to her neck, and how her hair fell just right around her face. It was bothering him something terrible not being able to touch her right then, and that it was interrupting with what she'd asked him to do. He growled again slightly, set his shoulders, and tried to relax.

She giggled beside him, which just set him further off.

"Aw, hell, you know I ain't good at this," he told her, opening his eyes and turning to look at her. She didn't relinquish her position or look at him.

"Going about it all wrong," she said plainly in a voice that reminded him just how smart and how crazy this girl was. "Don't try to think. Forget thinking, and just listen."

"I'm not a ruttin' psychic..."

"Just listen," she reiterated. He pouted in her general direction, then turned away again. He closed his eyes, took a steadying breath and stopped thinking.

It was easier than he thought. Everything started melting away almost as soon as he'd cut off communication with his brain, stopped thinking. A brief memory of his childhood, stationed dead quiet in a deer blind with nothing but his thoughts between him and that hulking animal, hovered near his ear. He'd felt exactly the same then, like there was a hot spotlight on him, and nothing else. He could hear the breath in his chest, his heart thumping away in his ears. He heard footsteps far away, light and delicate--Inara padding about on her way to her shuttle. He could hear River breathing beside him, soft and low and sweet. He'd never listened to anyone just _breathe_ before, and some knot that'd been there for so long untied itself low in his stomach.

"Wow," he breathed lowly.

"Listen to _Serenity_," River told him quietly. "What is she saying to you?"

He listened again, in quiet contemplation for a good moment. "Cap'n's on his way down. He thinks you're out with the Doc."

"Yes," she muttered, nodding beside him. "She disappears like a shadow at noon." Some noise beside him, and he guessed that she really did slip away to make sure the captain didn't happen to see her and Jayne together. That mind of his was pretty quick to jump to all sorts of conclusions. Jayne nodded almost sleepily, and continued his silent vigil. The heavy, angry footsteps of the prowling captain grew closer until they stopped with a double-take near ten feet away from him on the hangar floor.

"What in the name a' hell you doin', Jayne?" Mal asked incredulously. Jayne didn't shift or even open his eyes. Too comfortable.

"Meditatin'."

That was one of the words Mal Reynolds never expected to come out of Jayne's mouth. And the list was pretty damn long. He'd had to cross 'pretentious' off there after a meeting with Badger, and he hadn't been to pleased about that. He didn't like having to pull the damn thing out, was the rub.

"Meditating?" Mal repeated in a high, unbelieving voice. Jayne nodded in a soporific way.

"Listenin'."

"And just what is it you're hearin', Jayne, 'sides the rattlin' your brain makes rollin' around in your head?"

"Real funny, Mal," Jayne grumbled, almost losing his grip on the nothingness River had sent him into. He didn't make any other attempts to communicate with the captain after that. Mal's hackles rose.

"You've been actin' awful strange since we set down at Mill Creek, Jayne, but this is just the icing on the ruttin' cake!"

"Just 'cause you're pissed 'bout Zoe gettin' to run off and the like without you don't mean you gotta take it out on everyone else, Cap'n," Jayne observed, wondering where the hell the piece of wisdom had come from. Mal crossed his arms defensively, settling himself in for the long haul.

"Oh, ho _ho_. We've got a shepherd on the boat and the _merc's_ the one preachin' to me? I don't know where you found the balls, Jayne, but you don't got a right t' tell me what to do on my ship."

"Ain't tellin' ya what t' do," Jayne reasoned. "Just tellin' the truth."

"You tryin' to philosophize with me?"

Jayne suddenly stood, a move that made Mal jump back as if the merc were on fire, with his fists balled at his sides in frustration of the interruption. He realized again just how big and scary Jayne could be when he wanted to.

"Hell, Mal, if you just _listened_ I wouldn't have to!"

"Tell me, Jayne," Mal raised his voice, daring to step closer and stare him down, "just what was it about Mill Creek that made you so agreeable alluva sudden?" Jayne clenched his jaw shut, not daring say anything. "Helpin' out with dinner... Takin' care of River when the Doc's out... Hell, I think you actually said somethin' _nice_ to 'Nara yesterday."

"Then why don't'cha ask _her_ what's so gorram upsettin' 'bout bein' _nice_!" The last word came out so loudly that Inara jumped from her position on the grating above, causing Mal to look up with a bewildered look. He pointed at Inara, looked at Jayne all funny, then back to Inara.

"How'd you--"

"Listenin'," Jayne grumbled as he settled himself back on the floor, shut his eyes tight like a three-year-old refusing to listen to his parents, and tried to block them out.

Mal joined Inara on the catwalk, staring down heatedly at the back of Jayne's head. "Somethin' just ain't right about a mercenary gettin' all nice-i-fied on ya when you're not lookin'." He leaned his arms on the railing before him, and Inara did the same.

"And I don't see why you're so upset," Inara said back, flipping the hair casually from her shoulder. Mal glanced her way, then looked back down on the unmoving form of Jayne.

"Well... Jayne ain't s'posed to be nice. Jayne's s'posed to be... Jayne." He pointed down at the man, as if to make a point. "You spend two years with a fella like Jayne and you come t' expect certain things he's gonna do. Like start a fight. Or say somethin' vulgar. Or bite someone. I don't know."

"Then don't you think that a change in the opposite direction is a change for the better?" Inara tried to bolster Jayne's side as inconspicuously as possible.

"Some folks don't change, 'Nara."

"That's just an excuse used by those who don't." She remained as stoic as possible as he glanced over her way. "Give it a chance. Don't bite his head off, or he might just bite back someday."

"We aren't just talkin' about Jayne anymore, are we?" He asked with a smirk. She offered her most sarcastic companion smile back at him.

"No, Captain, we aren't." She turned and walked away, dress swishing about her in a way he was sure she was doing on purpose. He ran a nervous hand over his face as she left and offered a consceding sigh. She'd done her job. He'd forgotten why he was angry with Jayne.

Zoe walked back on to a very different ship than she'd left. She'd secured the deal with Badger and was ready to calm the arguing masses with her good news. When she walked in through the hissing and clanking airlock, she was surprised to find not only Jayne but Mal and her husband sitting cross-legged on the floor of the hangar in a quiet, thoughtful state. She furrowed her brows as she approached, circling them like a very confused vulture. She stopped beside the captain and crossed her arms with a shake of her head.

"Sir, can I ask what the hell is going on here?"

"Meditatin'," Mal responded, eyebrows raised.

"Listenin'," Jayne clarified.

"Yeah, what they said," Wash muttered.

Zoe looked up to see River leaning casually on the railing of the catwalk, a big grin on her face as she looked down at the men, especially her Jayne. Zoe's lips twitched up into a smirk and left it at that. She walked up the steps until she was standing beside the girl.

"This your doin', then?"

"Now _Serenity_ is calm," River murmured. She turned to Zoe with a bright, knowing smile. "Serene."

"Never would'a thought anyone could get all their mouths shut at the same time," Zoe mused, grinning at the three of them just sitting there on the floor of the hangar. "Now if only we could get your brother to try that. Give us womenfolk some time to be... women." River seemed to like the idea very much, and went off humming into the very, very quiet ship.

* * *

AN: Hey there, sooo sorry this one took forever to get up. FInals are bearing down pretty hard, and I may or may not get the next one up within the next week. BUT! After that, it's just summer ahead, which means FREEDOM! I had a little bit of trouble trying to get this one across, even if it IS the name of the ship. But the mental image of Jayne just sitting there all 'meditatin' sent me off giggling. I hope it's up to par (I dunno, prolly my least fave so far) but if it's not don't be afraid to let me know. I love hearing from you guys, what you liked and what you didn't. Thanks much for reading and sticking with me! 


	8. Greed

**Greed**

Badger had given them odder things to transport. Cows had been awfully odd, and, as Inara had once pointed out, wobbly-headed dolls weren't exactly high on the list of manly things to smuggle across the 'Verse. This wasn't the strangest thing they'd had hidden away in their hold, but it also wasn't quite as inconspicuous as they'd like.

It was also very, very loud.

"We're a gorram transport ship," Jayne growled as he loaded the last of the passengers' luggage and strapped it down tightly. "You'd think they wouldn't have t' go through a dealer to get a ride. S'not like they ain't payin' us."

"Maybe you missed the part where they're _illegals_," Mal pointed out as he anchored the luggage against the wall of the cargo bay, pulling the ties as tight as they could go with a straining grunt. "They don't belong anywhere, which means the Alliance is like to block any _legal_ passage they try to take. That's where we come in."

A loud thump and an even louder curse in Mandarin reached their ears all the way from what sounded to be the passenger dorms. Mal looked sideways at Jayne, and the merc rolled his eyes. He set off to the door on the far end of the hangar, then down the steps into the waiting area outside the infirmary. Leave it to the hired gun to take care of domestic disputes.

Just outside the hallway to the passenger dorms stood two of their human cargo, a young married couple with their infant held snug in a sling across her mother's chest. The woman--Gertie, if Jayne's memory served--was holding the newborn's head carefully close, protecting it from her husband, Marco.

"Just feel free t' sling whatever y' feel like at th' baby, Marco, I'm shore she won't feel nothin' when 'er gorram head caves in!"

"I'm just nervous is all, Gertie! All the yellin's upsettin' the little'n!"

"I'll yell all I want if'n that's what it takes t' get y'all t' stop throwin' things like you're a _feng le_--"

"Hey," Jayne growled dangerously as he approached. They both looked up, and suddenly paled at the vision of the brick wall of a man before them. He looked tense, and his fists were clenched by his side. "Watch it. We got a preacher on board, and he'll send all y'all straight to hell if he feels like it."

"That's not quite how it works, I'm afraid," Book said with a short smile as he edged between Marco and Gertie, carrying his things in two suitcases. "People have a way of sending _themselves_ to hell, Jayne."

"What, you tryin' to... to... initiate somethin', preacher?"

"No, but perhaps _insinuating_." He moved past Jayne and stopped at the foot of the stair. "The captain tells me that three more young people are going to be joining us on this outing, and that the empty bunk next to yours is to be mine for the following week."

"Heard about that," Jayne grumbled, ignoring the couple behind them that had started arguing again.

"I feel some animosity," Book replied with a grin. "I won't be interfering with anything you do in your bunk, and I'll be back down here when the passengers set down on Devon's Moon."

"I ain't got any anti-mossity. Just like my space is all." He waved Book up the stairs, indicating he still had the problem of the feuding couple to take care of.

Book nodded. "Simon vacated his room earlier this morning, and has set up a temporary lodging on a cot in the captain's bunk," he smiled knowingly, "as much as he might wish to bunk with a certain young mechanic." He nodded down the hallway toward the passenger dorms again. "I have a feeling River may need some help moving into Kaylee's bunk for the week."

Jayne tried to look upset as he trudged off for the hallway. As he approached Marco and Gertie, he pointed severely at the man.

"You. Stop throwin' shit." He pointed at Gertie. "You. Stop bein' a bitch." He grumbled past them and headed straight for River's room. Glancing over his shoulder, he winced to see that the two had followed him with their eyes. Nonetheless, he knocked on River's door--softer than he'd hoped to, what with needing to be the Big Scary Man today.

River opened the door, smirking in an "I-know-what-just-happened-and-you're-adorable" way. He tried to keep his angry facade on, and she smiled even wider to try to erase it.

"You movin' up to Kaylee's bunk?" He asked, shooting another glare over his shoulder at the couple. They quailed. When he looked back to River, she had only one duffel bag in her hands. He stuck his head in, swept his eyes about the room to find it empty, then stepped back out to puzzle a moment. "That all ya got?"

"She arrived in a box," she said calmly, patting his cheek. "Very little in the way of amenities. A few outfits, her drawing pad, other knickknacks, this is all."

She placed the bag into his hands and stepped out of the room around him. She approached Marco and Gertie, sticking her neck out to observe the little one in the woman's arms.

"How old is she?" River asked, that strange "Reader" look in her eye. Gertie looked questionably at her husband, then back to River.

"Three weeks."

River scrunched her nose in a way Jayne couldn't help but find ridiculously adorable. "Late. She came late, and she hurt and hurt. No medication, too late for that. Named her Violet, but wanted to name her something else; something vulgar for all the pain you went through." She paused, then her eyes got all foggy and far-off. "No... Not _your_ pain. Your _fear_." She stared happily up at Gertie's contorted face for a short moment before she whisked off up the stairs, humming a lullaby. Jayne shouldered his way past both of them, carrying her things.

"You say _feng le_ one more time, and I rip your gorram ears off," he threatened in their direction. He followed the girl up, grinning at the frightened whispers that followed their departure.

The three remaining passengers arrived within a minute of River and Jayne's journey from the passenger dorms. He was about to walk into the corridor to the galley when he heard the loud rabble making its way into the ship. He turned, and River peeked over his shoulder. Two men, both about the size of Jayne, followed by a demure older woman arrived in the hangar together. The woman had Gertie's blond hair, and the men looked like they could be Marco's brothers. Jayne sneered a little as Mal shook their hands in turn.

"Willy and Tony Marcello, Cap'n," one of the men said, clapping the other on the back. "Marco's older, more good-lookin' brothers. Take it the brat's already on board? And the baby, too?" This caused the second brother to break into uproarious laughter.

Jayne rolled his eyes. "Oh, this is gonna be _loads_ 'a fun."

"And this here's Gertie's ma, Genevieve. We all call 'er Gin fer short. Good ol' Ma Ginny."

"A pleasure, Captain Reynolds," Ma Ginny shook Mal's hand warmly.

"Heard you all are headed for Devon's Moon. S' a good way out from Persephone, but since we're dealin' through Badger here, I'm to guess you folks ain't exactly in the choosin' way."

"C'mon," Jayne ushered River out of the doorway and into the next corridor. "No need buttin' in on private business."

"But Jayne likes butting in," River said mischievously, grinning back at him. He smirked slightly, then urged the girl to move faster with a nudge.

"Sooner we get you set up with Kaylee, sooner I can get t' scope out these fellas. See if they're more trouble'n they're worth."

"Oh, they are," River said quietly as they moved through the galley and past Kaylee, toward the crew's quarters. River deftly kicked open Kaylee's ladder and climbed down.

"Heads up," Jayne warned as he tossed River's things to her. As she moved to set up her blankets and things on the cot in the corner, Jayne moved down the ladder after. He sealed the room, not bothering to lock it.

Just as soon as the girl could stand up, Jayne had her up against the wall and was kissing her good and hard. She barely had the time to accept and slither her arms around his neck. He usually had a way of surprising her, but this was something else. He made her eyes and heart go all fluttery just in the way he barely brushed their lips together before taking them all warm and firm. She stood high on her toes, wanting to bring herself even further toward him.

"Why--" She managed a word between breaths and kisses. He didn't answer for a long while, finally pausing to catch his breath.

"Those two... idiot... _hun dan... _You lookin' all..." He swept his eyes over her face, and she saw something in him suddenly jump to conclusion. "Don't bunk-up with Kaylee."

"Why not?" She definitely liked his big hand cradling her in the small of her back, and it was hard to argue with him in this position.

"Bunk with me." It came out of his mouth quickly, and he almost looked like he wished he hadn't said it. But it was out in the open now, and there was no taking it back. Something else she liked about him.

She could only blink and stare for a few good moments. "I cannot. Captain and Simon..." She cupped his face in her hands. "If it's a secret Jayne wishes to keep, having her in his bunk is not the way to keep it." And not to mention the connotations of sharing a bunk with the man, which sent a red blush to her cheeks before she could even attempt to think about it.

Jayne looked like he had something important to say, but wasn't sure how to go about saying it without it coming out strange and creepifying. He chose his words well, which took longer than he thought it might. "Hell... I don't wanna share you, _ni zi_."

The confession took her by surprise. And she wasn't the only one.

"If that ain't the _sweetest_ thing I ever heard!" Kaylee's voice came from the ladder. Jayne jumped back from River and spun around to face Kaylee in the same instant, looking like he was about to fall over. River didn't move, just stared forward at the mechanic.

"_Ta ma de_, you wanna give me a gorram heart attack?!" To reiterate the fact, he had his hand over his chest, breathing deeply.

"Sorry, I just couldn't help myself!" Kaylee was grinning from ear to ear. "I was wonderin' when you were gonna 'fess up, Jayne." He pointed to him and spoke confidentially to River. "Sometimes he's dumber'n a rock, ain't he?"

"No I aint'!" He looked from Kaylee to River. "You go around tellin' the whole damn crew that you and me..." He didn't dare finish the sentence. River shook her head, and a pregnant silence took the room.

"Wait, this was s'posed t' be a secret?" Kaylee asked, glancing between the two of them. "Huh. Well, that's somethin'."

Jayne was flabbergasted, and looked absolutely spent. "Y' mean you... You didn't tell Mal, did ya?"

"Hell no," she added with a laugh, walking to River's side and embracing her friend. "Cap'n thicker than pea soup set out for a week it comes to romancin'. You said it to his face and he wouldn't think nothin' on it for a day or so." She practically bounced at the excitement of it all. "You mean I get t' keep a secret? Who else knows? This is so excitin'!"

"Inara, Wash and Zoe," River offered. "Inara would like to discuss the matter of Jayne's punishment should he take advantage of me with both you and Zoe in her shuttle, when you have the time." Jayne's eyes bugged out a little at that, and he backed away a little further.

"Now wait just a sec--"

"Well? You two been at it yet?" She looked gleefully at River, who flushed brightly at the mere suggestion.

"No!" Jayne said immediately to throw her quickly off the path. "We ain't... No!"

"Oh, this is gonna be fun," Kaylee said with glee in her eyes. She moved forward to shoo Jayne from her room. "Go on, git! Time for girl talk!"

Jayne was left to wonder in horror for the remainder of the afternoon as to what the two girls could be talking about.

Dinner that night was held in the cargo bay, seeing as the dinner table didn't have so many seats, and it'd get awful crowded in there real fast. So Jayne and Wash went about setting up a few folding tables that Mal had been able to get his paws on a year or so ago in a fortuitous poker match. Inara and Kaylee carried the food down with help from Shepherd Book, the two women exchanging knowing glances. Two long tables were set up, and Mal sat at the head of the first, the Shepherd at the head of the second. There were fourteen of them in all, and the seating was determined rather quickly.

Mal, Simon, River, Jayne and the three Marcello brothers sat together at the first table. Book, Inara, Wash, Zoe, Kaylee and Gertie and her mother sat at the second. Jayne found it increasingly dangerous to have all four crew-members who knew about him and River sitting so close and conspiratorially in the same place. River squeezed his hand under the table, smiling down at her plate.

Stories were exchanged between the crew and the passengers, staring with the loudest of the Marcello clan, Tony. He was broader than Jayne across the chest, but Jayne still took him in height, and he bet that if it came down to it he knew more about fighting than any of these folks. Tony clapped his youngest brother on the back as he related a story of the time Marco had stolen a week's worth of rations from the ship they had taken from their home on Shadow to Persephone many years ago. The boy'd been so worried the ship would crash land on some remote moon that he stocked himself up to be sure he could survive until the feds came looking.

Jayne rolled his eyes at the boisterous laughter from the elder Marcellos and the redness in Marco's face. He stuffed the protein slab of imitation of ham in his mouth, chewed it slightly, then pointed his fork at Tony.

"So, what you folks runnin' from, anyway?" The Marcello half of the table went dead quiet, and Gertie's shoulders stiffened at the second table. Jayne looked from one brother to the other, then lowered his eyebrows suspiciously.

"They ain't runnin'," Mal interrupted, giving Jayne the "don't-go-there" look. "Just honest people lookin' to go somewhere the Alliance won't take the honest jobs from 'em."

"Yeah, and River here's Queen of Crazyland," he muttered, jerking his head at the girl next to him. No one got the chance to note that he'd used her name instead of an insulting epithet or to catch her minute smile. "It ain't my ship, but I'd still like t' know what I'm riskin' my life for if we get caught by feds." His pointed glare focused on Gertie's back, and the baby strapped around her started whining.

"She's hungry," Gertie said as she stood. "'Scuse me, all..."

River watched her as she disappeared toward the passenger dorms. "Afraid," she murmured. "So much fear."

"What's that _feng le_ girl talkin' 'bout?" Marco asked, looking perturbedly at the girl across from him. Just out of the corner of his eye he saw the anger boiling behind Jayne's eyes and immediately regretted his word use.

"What'd I say, boy?" Jayne growled in a low voice. River looked up at him like he'd just spread Christmas on the ground at her feet. Marco quailed, not quite falling off his chair.

"I-I didn't mean _feng le_, I meant..." He looked to the captain pleadingly, who was in turn looking at Jayne as if he'd grown a third arm sprouting from the middle of his chest.

"What you got t' be so nervous about?" Jayne asked all low and angry, ignoring Marco's pleas completely.

"Well, fer one I go this scary-eyed merc starin' me down like he's thinkin' of different ways t' kill me!"

"Up to fifty-seven," River muttered.

"Fifty-eight," Jayne growled. He then turned to Mal, as if the Marcellos weren't even at the table. "Somethin's screwy about the whole thing, Mal. That's my merc sense tinglin'."

"Now just hold your gorram horses a minute," Mal held his hands up for peace, all heads at the second table now turned. "Lets give the boys a minute to explain."

"Nothin' screwy, Cap'n," Tony said casually, shrugging. "Think your merc's a little jumpy, s'all."

It was left at that. Suspicious glances were shot around the table, mostly from Jayne. After the dinner was over, Willy helped clean up with Kaylee, smiling at her appreciatively. When Simon butted in, helping Kaylee carry one of the larger pots, the new passenger backed off. All of them milled about in the hanger for a while, talking and generally trying to forget Jayne's outburst. Gertie and the baby rejoined them, looking drawn but not so nervous as Marco seemed to be. Jayne had migrated to speak with Kaylee, Simon still in the galley, in dark words to try and pry what she and River had spoken about when he left. Mal and Marco had retreated to the bridge to work out a route with Wash. River sat on one of the older crates, trying to brush out her hair. Zoe took quiet inventory of what was theirs and what belonged to the passengers. That was when Willy made his move.

"Hey," Willy said as he approached River. She barely looked up and went back to her hair. "My little brother don't mean it when 'e calls ya crazy. Just a jumpy little sumbitch."

"You _do_ realize that with that phrase you've insulted your own mother at the same time as your brother?" She glanced up at him through hooded eyes, incredulous. Willy looked like he had no idea what she'd just said.

"Look, what I mean t' say is--" _You're damn fine, little girl_, his thoughts screamed to her, and she looked very offended before he could even finish his sentence. He looked at her strange for a long minute. "You're awful cute for someone so little."

Luckily, Kaylee had been there to warn Jayne of the eyes Willy was making at River. The mechanic, to this day, says that she'd never seen anyone look so ready to rip into someone.

Willy glanced up in time to see Jayne standing directly behind River, cracking his knuckles and glaring so hard down at the shorter man with one word ingrained behind those harsh, scowling eyes: **mine**.

With no other warning, Jayne took one step forward and clocked Willy heavy across the jaw with one of his big hands. The other man flew stumbling backwards, crashed into his own luggage and fell to the ground. No one got a chance to say anything as Jayne strode the few steps to where Willy lay, grabbed him up by the collar and prepared another swing.

The hammer of a gun clicked back and echoed through the hangar. No one moved. Gertie, one hand holding the head of the baby slung across her chest and the other holding the barrel of a gun straight out for Jayne, stepped forward as straight and strong as possible.

"Put 'im down," she commanded. Jayne curled his lip defiantly, but released the man from his grip. Willy's head hit the floor hard, and he groaned, rolling into a fetal position. "Now git up." Jayne stood, holding his hands begrudgingly up in surrender.

"Now Gertie," Kaylee started, holding hands up as well as she took a step forward. "Jayne was just bein'... Jayne. He didn't mean nothin' by it."

Gertie spun to focus the gun on Kaylee. "Don't come no closer! I don't wanna shoot nobody."

"Lies," River murmured. Gertie turned again to focus on River.

"Don't git my dander up, girl, or I _will_ kill you." She pointed the gun finally at Jayne, the most threatening at the moment. "We just wanna get t' Devon's Moon, no hiccups or nothin', all right?"

"Smugglers being smuggled," River said as she stood off the crate.

"Girl, stay put," Jayne warned out the side of his mouth. Gertie stared at her in growing fear.

"Making more money that they're paying." Her eyes focused on the bundle in Gertie's arms, then her eyes grew wide and accusing. "Not yours."

"Aw, hell," Jayne suddenly realized. "Kidnappers?"

"What?!" Inara was suddenly afraid, looking about and trying to find the easiest way to Mal or her shuttle. Tony was suddenly behind her, holding her captive.

"Greedy. Sold all of her own, needed more money." She looked disgusted, and shook her head.

Gertie, full of tears, whirled on River, the gun shaking. "Don't you judge me!"

Jayne suddenly clamped down on Gertie's wrist. The gun went off as Jayne jerked at her wrist, just missing River and bouncing twice off the walls and embedding itself into the Marcellos' luggage.

"Careful of the baby!" Kaylee shouted as Jayne tried to get a hold on the young woman and calm her down. Easily looping one big arm around her neck and pulling her captured wrist behind her back and tugging, she cried out and dropped the gun. Zoe snatched it quickly and held it out toward Tony. The man's grip on Inara loosened, and he backed off. Jayne held tight to Gertie, then looked at Kaylee.

"Hey, someone take this brat off so I can lock this gal up!" Kaylee eagerly took the crying, screaming baby from the sling around Gertie's chest and cooed at her. Violet was quickly bemused under Kaylee's wiles. Jayne carted Gertie off toward the passenger dorms, while Zoe glared death at Tony and prodded him with the gun to get him to follow. Shepherd stood watch over the half-unconscious Willy until Mal could return with the bound and beaten Marco. Kaylee had been quick on the comm, and Mal and Wash had little trouble subduing the youngest Marcello. Ma Ginny was waiting in the passenger dorm for them, opened the door, and smiled at her daughter.

"Told ya, darlin'," was all she said before she allowed herself to be locked inside with the others.

When they pulled in on Devon's Moon, the feds were waiting, just as they'd been asked to. They arrested known kidnappers Marco and Gertie Marcello, along with the other members of the family for assault and conspiracy. The reward was a little more that paltry, but not by much. It was returning the little tyke to her parents that brought in the real money. Mrs. Fairfax actually kissed Mal twice on each cheek when he handed Violet over to the older woman. It was the most money they'd made, aside from that cash from Ariel and all the subsequent selling of drugs. That woman was mighty happy to have her little girl back.

River sat quiet in the infirmary as Simon applied a simple bandage to Jayne's split knuckle and the bite marks Gertie had left on his wrist as she'd struggled. He was a little disappointed to have missed the action while cleaning up in the galley, but Kaylee's stories had been quite colorful She made Jayne out to be some sort of selfless hero, which both men were loath to accept. The girl in the corner tried not to smile at her knight in shining armor.

"Don't put that under any water for another hour," Simon advised, washing off his own hands. "I doubt that the woman had rabies, but--"

"Rabies?!" Jayne nearly jumped off of the exam table at the word, looking at the hidden bite marks with new terror. River snickered, at which Jayne growled defensively.

"As I was saying," Simon himself snickering slightly, "there's nothing about these wounds that tells me there will be any long-term damage, or even any scars. Her incisors _were_ rather sharp, oddly enough..."

"Right, right," Jayne levered himself off of the exam table, not even bothering to thank the man as he headed for the staircase outside the infirmary. Simon huffed slightly, returning the supplies to their rightful places. River stood, looked over at her brother, then embraced him from behind.

Taken by surprise, the doctor nearly dropped his instruments, then slowly relaxed. "_Mei mei_, is something wrong?"

"Don't be greedy, Simon. Must share."

"River, I don't know--"

"You will." She hugged him tight to her, then let go. "You will know."

Night cycle came after setting off from Devon's Moon, and River had snuggled up against Jayne's chest as they sat together in Kaylee's bunk. He looked about ready to fall asleep with her there. She sat up suddenly, staring him right in his sleepy eye.

"Don't be Gertie."

"S'awful hard, her bein' a woman and me not."

"Jayne..."

"Awright, hold on a sec... Don't want me t' kidnap ya and sell ya?"

"Already tried that." She smiled all pretty, the way that made him melt a little inside. "Guess again."

"You know I ain't good at this."

"So you grasp the point."

"Okay, so... You don't want me t' get all grabby and start shootin' people?"

"The general gist." She kissed him once, then burrowed back against his chest. "Must share the toys in the toy box, or Mother will take them away."

"You're all kinds of confusin' sometimes, little bear."

"Thank you for defending my honor, Jayne. Even if it _was_ grabby."

"Any time, darlin'."

* * *

AN: Wow... that one got long. I apologize profusely; I didn't mean for it to get out of hand like this. I actually made a plot for this chapter... Which is weird and yet I love it. I think I'm fond of the Marcellos. I don't know why. Anyway, I think I might've overdone the "greed" moral in this one... I dunno, tell me what you think? I tried to have more Rayne-y goodness in this, and just the image of Jayne punching someone out for River makes me go all melty. Oh, and now Kaylee's in on it... bwaha, another in the Turtle Club! Hope this is still up to my usual standard beside being unusually loquatious. Thanks for reading, and again, I lerv you guys! 


	9. Trust

**Trust**

Kaylee looked just about fit to bust with the secret. With a fourth added to their ranks, it was decided to have a pow-wow of sorts in Inara's shuttle just to keep things straight and see just how much ground needed covering. The tea was hot, and Kaylee seemed unable to control herself. And she was contagious.

"It's just the shiniest thing I ever saw, or else I'm lyin' out my teeth," Kaylee said happily as she took a sip of hot tea. Inara tried not to emulate the girl's immediate enthusiasm.

"Shiny or not, with more of us keeping this secret from Mal and Simon, the more dangerous it's going to get for the two of them. No offense, but this isn't the most secretive of secret meetings."

"As secrets go," Zoe muttered, looking down at her tea questioningly, "it's a big one. Captain's not gonna be so forgiving he finds out we're keepin' all this from him. He likes secrets even less than I do."

"And running a smuggling operation isn't secretive enough for him..." Inara deferred their questioning gazes. "Any suggestions, then?"

"More tea?" Wash offered, holding out his empty cup.

Inara poured him another steaming cup while Kaylee held a finger to her mouth in thought. "Shouldn't it be their call on when they tell Simon and the Cap'n?"

"If a man's opinion can be voiced here," Wash spoke up, sipping his tea lightly, "it's our job to make sure no one gets shot-up into little tiny Jayne-pieces over this. Not to make this into a moral lesson or anything, but they're counting on us to keep this all to our lonesomes... However lonesome a gaggle of girls and a strapping pilot can be..."

A tentative consensus went up among the women. Their murmuring stayed locked in the shuttle behind the closed door, quiet in case a barging captain decided to make an uninvited appearance, as he was wont to do. An announcement over the com for Zoe to please join the other warriors in the galley summoned the woman away from the meeting, which disbanded quickly after into individual pockets of persona across the ship.

Zoe was met by the sight of Mal and Simon standing on opposite sides of the table with Jayne sitting nonchalantly at its head. He sat cleaning and loading his multiple firearms as if people weren't arguing practically over his head.

"I don't want her going," Simon said blankly. Zoe knew immediately what was being argued on. River had gone on a few good runs with them, and nothing terribly serious had happened yet. But the Doc had always made a scene beforehand, like it was a part of his job.

"Hate t' say it," Jayne grunted as he checked the cartridge of his pistol then reloaded it, "but Doc's right. Girl shouldn't be comin' with us."

A long pause of incredulity allowed Zoe to cross the room to stand beside Mal. He turned to her with something odd in his eye, and took a moment to think of what to say.

"Hit me," he commanded at last.

"Sir?"

"The only reason for Jayne to agree with _anyone_, let alone his sworn blood-rival, is that I'm havin' one helluva nightmare. So hit me."

"If you insist," Zoe started, pulling back her fist threateningly. Mal changed his mind awful quickly, holding out his hands in defense.

"Woah, _woah_! You didn't even ask if that was an order!"

"I took it as inherent, sir."

"Ya _did_ ask for it, Mal," Jayne said with a mischievous grin.

"Don't remember askin' you t' weigh in," Mal grumbled, pointing a finger at Jayne again. "Now, why you suddenly decide to side with the good doctor is a big damn mystery and I ain't a detective, so I'm expectin' a pretty interesting reason for the personality change."

Zoe knew exactly why Jayne didn't want River to go, and she found it oddly endearing. She kept her lips sealed, and secretly hoped that Jayne would take this perfectly good opportunity to tell Mal about himself and River. But he didn't.

"We don't need 'er," Jayne replied cooly. "Ain't no 'readin' t' be done, so what we need the little moonbrain for?"

"I don't know whether I should be glad or frightened that he's supporting me." Simon turned to the first mate. "Zoe? How should I feel? Mortified? Ashamed?"

With a sigh, Zoe replied, "No big deal, Doctor. Jayne's been known t' have the occasional fleeting brainstorm."

"_Real_ supportive," Jayne grumbled, strapping yet another gun onto his person.

The only one present that didn't jump when River suddenly appeared in the room was Jayne. He was used to it by now.

"I can help," the girl said.

"No worries, Little Albatross," Mal said with a grin once he'd recovered, "I'm on your side. It's these two mud-brained mules we're tryin' to convince."

Simon recoiled slightly, a look of disgust twisted on his features. "You are _not_ categorizing us together, are you?" He gave Jayne his best 'Simon-look,' at which the merc sneered childishly.

River passed up Simon completely, knowing that Mal could go without _his_ support; he would not leave without Jayne, however. She stood right in front of the sitting merc, squinting and scrutinizing. He copied her mockingly, unmoving. Mal was suddenly edgy and feared another knife incident.

"You know I can do this," she said to the surprise of most everyone. "Seen what I can do."

If Mal didn't know better, he'd say Jayne suddenly looked concerned. But he knew better. She knitted her eyebrows pleadingly, and everyone present saw something give behind Jayne's eyes.

Then she smiled. "Good." Turning away from a now distracted-looking Jayne, she faced Mal and Zoe. "Captain Reynolds, I am ready for duty. No more objections, save for Simon, who will perpetually disagree. What is the nature of my assignment?"

Mal and Zoe exchanged a glance, the latter divulging nothing with her voice or her eyes. Jayne was studying something intently on the table, scraping at it with his thumbnail.

"Now wait a minute--"

"You'd be the back-up gunhand," Mal interrupted Simon, "and make sure no one's double-crossin' anyone else." He pointed at his temple to emphasize the implied mind-reading part of the plan.

"Got it," River said as she dropped into an accent eerily close to Kaylee's. "Just gotta get all gussied up 'n all, Cap'n." She smiled brightly and turned out of the galley in a flourish.

Mal allowed only a brief pause before he asked, "Care t' explain somethin', Jayne? Enlighten the situation?"

Jayne stood. "She gives _you_ them crazy eyes, I'd like t' see ya keep on disagreein', all right?" he moved quickly out toward his bunk, patting at his chest and hips in search for any guns he might have incidentally left anywhere.

"I don't like it," Simon muttered.

"And I don't like gettin' shot," Mal rebutted. "She's goin', and she'll get her cut. We'll be seein' you, Doctor."

While Mal, Zoe and Kaylee readied the mule for use, Jayne met River in the corridor just outside the galley. He was holding a less-used pistol complete with holster in his right hand, the other gripping River's shoulder. The gun plopped into the girl's hand, and she stared down at it questioningly.

"This here's Susan," he told her. "She's older'n most 'a what I got, but she ain't never let me down yet. Kickback ain't nothin' t' worry about, but she's heavier so watch how ya handle 'er. Mal says you're back-up, so don't shoot 'til someone shoots at you--"

"Jayne," she interrupted. He looked up from the gun in her hand, meeting her eye. "I know more than you do on how to fire a gun. Been on jobs before. Killed men before." A pause elipsed between them, and she squeezed his hand gently. "I will take care of Susan... Thank you."

"She comes back with a scratch on 'er--"

"I know." The leap felt huge to her, trusting one of his beloved firearms to her. She threaded their fingers together over the gun and smiled encouragingly. "She will return to you unharmed."

He sighed almost imperceivably out his nose, looked down at the gun, then back to her eyes. His thoughts came through bright and loud, clear as glass.

_Somethin' else better come back unharmed._

Her smile grew to Kaylee proportions, and she threw her arms around his neck to plant him with a full, joyful kiss.

Inara knew that Mal could be an idiot. She might not have liked him as much as she did if he wasn't. But this was right up there with the "you kissed Saffron, didn't you?" debacle. The girl was wearing Jayne's gun. _Jayne's gun._ She had it strapped to her leg, wearing those little black shorts that Inara figured must drive Jayne completely mad. Jayne held out his hand and helped River climb up into the mule, not looking at each other but smirking to themselves nonetheless. From her vantage point on the catwalk above, Inara used all her strength not to hide her face in her hands at the shame Mal was bringing to her. Kaylee was right: Jayne and River might as well have been going at each other half-naked in the back of the mule and Mal still wouldn't have noticed.

"All aboard," Mal announced as he hefted himself up into the passenger seat. Zoe hopped nimbly into her position at the helm and glanced over her shoulder at the two in the back. "Easy ridin' here, folks. No shootin' 'less it's them that start shootin'. Got that Jayne?"

"Yeah, yeah," he grumbled.

"Li'l Albatross, you're gonna sit there in the mule while the negotiatin' goes on." Mal continued talking while Zoe pulled out of the hangar and started off through the hot, arid landscape outside. "You feel anything off, you give me the signal."

"What's the signal?" River asked. Mal paused. He honestly hadn't thought of it. He furrowed his eyebrows in thought, and River stifled a laugh.

"Just start coughin'," Jayne suggested. "Like y' got somethin' caught in your throat." He scratched at his throat in mime to get the point across. River looked pointedly at Mal, who had turned at Jayne's suggestion.

"Is this acceptable?"

"Yeah, all right, but don't make it real obvious. Don't want anyone gettin' suspicious." Mal turned back around, shifting until he was comfortable.

The meeting place was a fair bit away from _Serenity_, back in a thick wooded area in the shade of an outcropping cliff. Zoe maneuvered smartly between the trees and let the mule idle just on the edge of the clearing. Their buyers were already present, their own little land-skiff sitting on the opposite edge. Their leader was a short man, barely matching River in height. Behind him stood the hired muscle, who Jayne scoped out immediately. Completely bald with a bushy red mustache, which looked absolutely ridiculous on him. He wasn't nearly as heavily armed as Jayne was, which wasn't saying much.

Mal and Zoe climbed out first. As Jayne stepped past River to hop out, he just barely brushed fingers along her hand. He jumped to the ground, pulled out his smallest gun and sauntered after the others. For some inexplicable reason, River was blushing, and hard.

From her spot guarding the mule, she could barely hear their voices, but their thoughts were as loud as if they were thinking them right next to her. Mal was thinking out everything before he said it, judging by the way his lips were moving. Zoe was planning the best escape routes, and how to make sure everyone got out if things went south. Jayne was thinking hard on the easiest way to take out The 'Stache, or so he called the mustachioed merc. River giggled lightly.

The dark thoughts of The 'Stache focused on the easiest way to take Jayne out. River shook her head at every one of them. No one could take her man out. Their leader--Jonesy; he referred to himself in the third person in thought--thought he was terribly clever. Seemed like Captain Reynolds was willing to sell the cargo for almost ten percent less than another man he'd talked to.

_The signal_, The 'Stache thought loudly, looking at the way Jonesy was moving his pinkie finger around in the air. She felt him spike red in excitement, and the air around him went tense.

River was suddenly coughing. The 'Stache's fingers tightened on the gun at his side. She coughed more intensely. The hammer clicked back and he barely raised it from his side, invisible to the others.

Cough! _Cough!_ "JAYNE!"

Devastatingly, her cry had the opposite effect, and Jayne spun bewilderedly to face River as she sat in the mule. Two shots cracked out, and in the same move, Jayne buckled and fell to the ground.

The 'Stache was dead before Mal and Zoe drew their guns. Susan was smoking as River leapt from the mule and dashed forward, shooting. These were warning shots at the feet of two more advancing thugs. They backed away, leaving Jonesy and one more formidable man before the captain and the first mate. Mal punched the former in the face, and the latter fled quickly at the sight of Zoe's long firearm aimed for him.

River reached Jayne just as Mal bent to grab Jonesy by the collar and shake him. The girl knelt beside the merc, looking a step below frantic. She pressed two fingers against the pulse in his neck, settling slightly knowing his heart was still going. At her touch, his hand flew up from his side and grabbed harshly onto her wrist. She gasped throatily. At the noise, Mal turned, Jonesy held up by his collar in Mal's hands.

Recognition settled into Jayne's eyes, and he dropped her wrist as suddenly as he'd latched onto it. Zoe knew the look in River's eyes immediately. Wash gave it to her too many times to be named, especially after a rough job. _Thank God you're alive._

Only one more awkward moment before Jayne cursed loudly, realizing he'd been shot. He was bleeding from his upper left arm, they all saw as he sat up. "Lucky that ugly sonuva-bitch was a lousy shot," he muttered. "I'm fine," he told River in an off-hand way. She didn't move. He lowered his voice, until Mal could barely make out what he was saying. "I'm _fine_," he repeated.

They were all back on the mule in no-time, Mal having taken his rightful pay from Jonesy's coat pocket and left him there sans cargo. The mule bounced the two in the back, Jayne clutching a spare scrap of cloth against his bleeding wound. He glanced at the girl, who had been watching him with sad eyes. Focusing intently, he thought one word very loud and clear.

_Thanks._

She nodded, looking tearful. She looked away to where she held Susan in her lap, running her fingers along the metal carefully. Without meaning to, she caught his next thoughts as he stared out at the desert.

_Ain't no one else I'd trust my guns with, little bear._

She smiled all the way back to the ship, cradling Susan like she was a child.

Simon was infuriated, as everyone expected him to be, but he patched Jayne up despite his protests. Jayne worked his shoulder, testing the elasticity of the bandage and how he could move about with his arm all shot up. He seemed pleased with the range of motion and told Simon just that. The doctor looked at him a little oddly, then leaned back on the counter to inspect the merc.

"Have we been tricked into an alliance?" he asked straight out. Jayne thought on it a moment, then shrugged.

"Don't think we was tricked. Ain't often Mal thinks things through that far." He grinned widely. "Maybe y' just like me."

"Ugh," Simon thought out loud. "God forbid we actually get along. The ship might spontaneously combust."

"Hell, we're always gonna be arguin'..." His face screwed up slightly, and Simon took it that Jayne was thinking acceptionally hard. "Screw it," he said at last, throwing his arms up in defeat, "I ain't good with the words." _Think moonbrained. Think River._ He paused. "What if we _did_ alliance, or what you said? It'd throw Mal off, for sure." The very idea made Jayne smirk. "Not sayin' we gotta start sharin' a bunk--" Simon made a face that Jayne ignored, --just kinda nice t' have someone to agree with."

"Can I still think of you as a brainless ape whose very existence in the gene pool is in itself a miracle?"

"Hey, Doc, you trust me and I trust you, _dong ma_?"

Simon thought quite hard, especially on Ariel. He tapped fingers on the counter beside him in thought as he looked at his feet.

"I fully expect you to turn on me should the opportunity arrive."

"Yeah, and once you figger out how t' use a gun, I'm dead where I stand." Jayne was laughing as he shook hands with the doctor. Mal was lucky he wasn't present. He might have fainted.

Everyone was surprised to see Simon and Jayne walking together to dinner that night, one talking amicably while the other nodded, half-listening. The experience seemed to have bonded the two strangely mismatched men. Jayne had actually used his brain in the infirmary--he figured the closer he and Simon were to friends, the easier it would be to tell him later that he'd been making out with River in the shadows on nearing two months.

And said making-out took place directly after dinner in a particularly dark shadow in a corner of the cargo bay. He could practically feel the concern bubbling off of her as she shoved his back unapologetically against the crate and pulled herself up on her toes to take his mouth with hers. He was all hers that time, and both of them knew it. He just let it happen, let her get it all out. She held him tight, face burrowed into his shirt and shook. He smoothed her hair under his hand all gentile-like until she calmed down. She'd not had to deal with him getting shot like that, right in front of her. She'd never cared before. It scared her to know how much she cared.

"I ain't goin' nowhere, _ni zi_," he muttered into her hair assuringly.

"No lies. Must promise, or I shall cry ferociously."

"Promise. Cross my heart, hope t' choke."

Kaylee passed over on the catwalk, looking more surprised that perturbed. She'd never expected anything like that to even cross Jayne's mind, let alone come out of his mouth. And where he could be heard, nonetheless. They were lucky that Simon was in bed and Mal was charting a course with Wash on the bridge. She felt giddy and suddenly worried at the same time. This secret was going to be harder to keep than she thought.

* * *

AN: Kay, so this one isn't so ridiculously long. I'm proud I was able to keep it (more) succinct and yet still tell the story. I wasn't planning on it originally, but I'm starting to like the alliance between Jayne and Simon. I don't know, I think it's pretty logical. Hope this one isn't too forced; I don't like it as much as the last one, but I feel the relationship just keeps advancing and I can hardly keep my fingers flying fast enough. Tell me what ya think, and I'm still madly in love with all of you! I'm leaving the dorms tomorrow, so no knowing when updates will be, but I'll try to keep em coming. Have a good summer, and stay awesome! 


	10. Wrath

**Wrath**

Simon hadn't seen River this happy in a long time. She twirled past him as he exited the infirmary, humming a tune she'd been humming often as she danced sprightly up the stairs toward the hangar. He smiled, pleasantly wiping his hands on the spare towel, which he tossed back on the exam table before strolling out to the lounge. Jayne sat waiting, shuffling the cards and shooting a lingering glance up the staircase after River. Simon sat opposite Jayne in the chair across from the sofa and followed his gaze.

"You wouldn't know what song she's humming, would you?" Simon asked as he accepted the five cards Jayne dealt him. Jayne nodded absently, fanning the cards out in his own hand.

"Yeah, it's that old Moon Princess Lullaby. Been singin' it all gorram day," he muttered in an off-hand way. "Now she's got it stuck in _my_ head, and no way it's comin' out on it's own."

"Moon Princess..." A look of recognition spasmed over his features, and he slapped the heel of his palm against his forehead. "Simon, you idiot! I _knew_ I knew that song!"

Jayne lay down two cards and took two more from the top of the deck. "Yeah, that's what she called ya. Been tryin' to get you t' say somethin' about it longer'n I can guess."

"She told you this?" Simon asked, looking down at his cards, grimacing obviously, and lay down three of them. As he scooped up three more, his visage didn't improve.

"She gets t' yammerin' on some days I stop listenin'," Jayne let the suspicion slide off of him, immovable as his poker face. "Makes fun 'a you a lot when you ain't around." He grinned slightly, moving his cards around in his hand.

Simon smirked endearingly, thinking on the faces River must make when she talked about him.

"So, you get the rules, yet?" Jayne asked, laying down his spotless straight on the table in front of them. Simon winced, putting his own cards flat on the table.

"I think I get the mechanics. It's the execution that's lacking." He was the proud owner of a two and seven of diamonds, the queen of spades, a three of clubs and a piece of paper with a crudely-drawn nine of hearts on it.

"We get t' playin' for coin, Doc, you're gonna be down t' your turned-out pockets 'fore we even get dealin'."

"What can I say?" Simon input a shrug and slumped forward uselessly. "My family played Euchre." He ignored Jayne's eyebrow slowly inching up in question and held out his hands for the deck of cards. Jayne scooped them all together, straightened them out and handed them over.

Just as Simon had shuffled the oddly-matched cards, there was a loud thump, a crash and a feminine cry from above. Jayne and Simon exchanged a glance, then both took off in the direction of the sound. Jayne knew where it was coming from just by the sound of the echo. Galley.

They entered nearly at the same time, Simon squeezing through the doorway first. Kaylee was sitting on the floor just by the table, holding her hand to a big, heavy red welt that looked terribly painful. Her tear-filled eyes looked up as Simon entered, and he went immediately to her. Kneeling, he gently removed her hand from the wound and barely brushed fingers over it to test the level of pain. Kaylee gasped, bit her lip, and looked thankfully up at Simon.

Just as he wondered what she'd done to cause this, he heard Jayne call out, "Doc, on yer right!"

He turned just in time to duck under the trajectory of a flying tin can. It smashed and crumpled against the far wall, spilling its green, oozing contents all over the floor. It joined a graveyard of similar cans and rolled to a stop under the table. Simon looked up to see River in the kitchen, angrily tearing into the supply of canned food and lobbing it out into the dining area.

Simon was quick to his feet, and Jayne took his place kneeling beside Kaylee. "When'd this mess start?" He asked the mechanic, looking at River with an odd mix of emotions.

"I don't know," Kaylee said in as steady a voice she could manage. "I heard somethin' crashin' around down here, so I just followed the noise, and the next thing I know, PLOP!" She pointed at her egg-sized welt. "Right on the noggin."

"Doc'll fix it up," he assured her, tearing his eyes away to the girl in the kitchen. Kaylee felt even more powerless than she already did, watching that dumbfounded, helpless look settle in behind Jayne's eyes.

Just as River was about to toss another can, Simon's hands grabbed hers and wrenched them gently away from the food. She struggled, whimpering.

"No, Simon! Have to stop it! All the blood, covered in blood-- can't you see it?!"

He looked down at the cans, all generic Blue Sun brand and seemingly innocuous. "No, _mei mei_, I don't see any blood. Come on, let's just--"

"They'll find me, Simon!" She cried, trying to escape his bonds. "Smell me out, track me down; skin me and gut me 'till there's no River left but her still-beating heart in their bloodstained hands! Hang me out to dry, Simon," her voice turned up as the tears started. "Sell me to the highest bidder after I'm all dried up and useless. A River husk! Don't want to be a husk, Simon!"

She slumped in his arms, spent. Simon held her close, propping her up as well as he could in his arms and carried her out of the kitchen. Jayne stood quickly, too quickly.

"Thought you said she was gettin' better," he growled. He'd thought so too. He'd hoped so.

"I know," Simon muttered, trying to carry River but not able to get a good hold on her from his position. He glanced up, then nodded his head down at River. "A little help, please?" He would've been more surprised at Jayne's lack of resistance if his little sister hadn't just gone all limp without warning.

"To the infirmary," Simon asked, looking at the girl cradled in Jayne's arms. "Kaylee's coming too. I'll help her down myself."

"Awful kind of ya, Simon," Kaylee said as sprightly as possible. By the time he'd helped lever Kaylee to her feet, Jayne and River were already gone.

He smoothed her hair back from her face in one movement, watching her heavy lidded eyes loll about until they met his. She smiled at the contact, which he found hard to emulate. The doctor was taking his sweet time with helping Kaylee down the stairs, thankfully.

"Sorry," River murmured.

"Hey, what you got t' be sorry 'bout? Ain't your fault you're crazy."

She smirked. It was Jayne's way of saying he understood--as well as he could, anyway.

"Scared you," she said. "Won't happen again. I will try to control myself."

"Yeah, well..." He looked up as Simon and Kaylee came into view, and took a careful step back away from the exam table where he'd set River.

"Thank you," Simon nodded to Jayne. He didn't move. As he helped Kaylee boost herself up on the counter to sit, he glanced at Jayne. "_Thank you_," he repeated.

"Simon-speak for 'Your services are no longer needed'," River translated. Jayne looked to the girl, then back to Simon with a little scowl.

"They gonna be all right?" He asked, not moving until he hand an answer.

"Kaylee just needs some painkillers and a little rest. River... I'll see what I can do." That was Jayne's cue to leave, and he took it grudgingly. Kaylee smirked confidentially at him as he glanced back. _I'll look out for her while you're gone_, she said with that smile.

Jayne was alone in the galley some time later when Shepherd Book passed him by. The man sitting at the table was glaring death down at the wood before him, as if he might be happier if he could set it on fire. He was twirling his knife in one hand, drumming fingers on the table with the other.

"Son, is there something you want to talk about?" Book asked suddenly. While Jayne didn't jump, the preacher's sudden appearance made his head snap up and the drumming cease immediately. He scowled again, then went back to staring at the table.

"Nothin' I got t' talk to you about, preacher. No offense or nothin', but you ain't who I wanna take this out on."

Book raised his eyebrows appreciatively. "Well, thank you Jayne," he said honestly. With a short pause, he added, "although I do feel sorry for whoever you _do _want to take this out on."

"Where you headed?" Jayne asked to get his mind off of the infirmary.

"To watch River," he said. Jayne tried not to growl. "Simon needs to speak with the Captain about setting down for medication sometime soon, and doesn't want to leave his sister alone. I volunteered my services."

"Good luck," Jayne muttered, drumming his fingers again. "Girl's a great big ball 'a trouble."

"As troubling as she is, she's a sick girl that needs tending now and then."

"She ain't _sick_," Jayne said suddenly as his head shot up again. He realized too late that he'd defended her, and tried to amend his hasty defense. "Well, ah, sick in the head, maybe."

"Jayne, are you--"

The merc cut him off by holding up a hand. His ears were perked up and listening intently. He'd heard something. He just knew he did. He stood up. "You hear that, preacher?"

"I can't be certain..."

"Stay put. Somthin's screwy." Jayne sheathed his knife and stepped nimbly out of the galley and toward the infirmary. He didn't turn around when he heard Book following him at a slower pace. He heard something then. Definitely.

As he hopped the last few steps just in front of the infirmary, he heard Kaylee squeak in fright. The reason was immediately evident. In the doorway of the infirmary stood the Tam siblings, the elder backing away from the younger. She didn't give him any leeway. Wordlessly, her fist swung out and cracked against Simon's jaw. He tumbled backward, the back of his head hitting the edge of the table. He didn't get up.

"River!" Book's strained voice came from behind Jayne. A shiver crawled up the merc's spine as the girl turned lidded, hazy eyes straight on him. Her fists balled at her sides, and her whole body tensed.

"Git back, preacher," Jayne said lowly.

"Jayne, don't do anything rash--"

"Just git back!" He stepped forward, making sure his instinct to grab at a weapon was quashed. "Girl, don't look at me like that. S'just Jayne."

To his surprise, she growled. He noticed then that in one of her hands she held one of those needles the Doc was so fond of spearing her with. It was dropped to the ground at her bare feet. "No more," she said in a voice so unlike her own. He stifled the fight-or-flight instinct.

"Ain't gonna stick ya with anything," he told her. "Now c'mon, stop lookin' at me like I'm some big slab 'a beef."

The kick arched up and slammed against the side of his face, sending him reeling sideways. Once he was on his knees, she kicked him again, right in the gut. Once he was on the ground, she kicked him again, and again.

"River," Book called again, hoping to get her attention away from Jayne. Her head snapped up, like a feral animal. His window was open, and Jayne tripped River by sliding his foot harshly at hers. She fell to the ground, but caught herself with graceful ease. They were both back on their feet, staring each other down.

She swung her hand out, intending to send him flying as she'd done to Simon.

One swift move, and his arm shot out to block her fist. He engulfed her hand in his own, spun her using her own weight against her, then gathered the girl up in his arms, cinched around her waist from behind and pinning her arms to her sides. She struggled, and he pulled her back. It was tug-of-war, and no one was the sure victor. At last, he pulled her tight against him and placed his mouth close to her ear.

"C'mon, _ni zi_, you know me! S'your _hui xiong_!"

Book didn't have time to be shocked, for that haze in River's eyes dimmed slightly at the words. Something in her was frustrated at that loss of control, and she growled again, wriggling against his grip.

"Manipulator!" She cried. "On his side all along! Want to take me away, make me a husk, sell me off! Won't let you!" She slammed her head backward, connecting with Jayne's forehead. He cursed quite loudly, but her distraction was ineffectual as his grip only faltered for a hopeful moment. Then it increased ten-fold around her.

"I ain't lettin' you go!" He growled back at her. They both buckled at the knees at his suggestion, crumpling to the floor together as he held her tight against him.

"Cruel! False! Release me!"

"Who did this t'you, River?" His tone of voice was something Book and the now-hovering Kaylee had never heard come out of him. The girl's eyes, still misted with anger and madness, filled with real, hot tears.

"Two by two," she croaked mistily, "hands of blue." It was Jayne's turn to get the bloodlust look in his eye, and his arms tightened defensively around her.

"Y'know what I'm gonna do t' them, little bear? Hey, you _listen_ to me!" He jerked her slightly, keeping her as much in the real world as he could. "I'm gonna kill 'em. I'm gonna _slaughter_ 'em. I'm gonna track down every_ ching wa tsao de liu mang _a' the bunch and slit their gorram throats." His voice fell into a deep rumble, holding her close and resting his forehead on the back of her head. "I'm gonna sit there and watch 'em bleed t' death 'cause they don't deserve t' die all quick-like. You hear me, _ni zi_? I'm gonna end 'em, cut 'em down, watch 'em bleed."

River's lower lip wobbled, and she shut her eyes fast as the fat tears rolled down her face. She took in a choppy, shuddering breath, and she cried. She cried hard. He effortlessly turned her in his arms and brought her close to rest against his chest. Her arms shakily wrapped around his neck, where she burrowed her face and sobbed. The biggest, saddest deluge of tears took her and soaked into Jayne's shirt.

"Hey, preacher," Jayne called at last, startling the man from a horrified reverie. "Check on the Doc, make sure he's breathin'." He looked over at Kaylee while he smoothed River's hair with one big hand. "You all right?"

"Fine," she squeaked, then covered her mouth with her hand.

"The doctor's just fine," Book announced, his hand on Simon's pulse. "He's sporting a nasty bump on the back of his head, and he looks as if he'll be showing a black eye come tomorrow." The preacher stood, looking down on the two crouched together on the floor, holding one another. Jayne didn't want to glare at the preacher, but he didn't like the way he and Kaylee were watching him.

"You got somethin' t' say?" He asked Book pointedly. He rolled through his options, what he could say, what he meant, and how Jayne would take it. He shrugged once, shaking his head.

"You're the only man I've known to make carnage sound so comforting, Jayne."

Jayne cocked an eyebrow at him, then softened his look as he shifted his gaze to the girl in his arms. "Thanks, I guess."

As Kaylee and Book arranged Simon on the exam table, River's crying lessened, and she raised her head from his neck to look straight at him. He didn't hide anything.

"Didn't mean it," she choked on a sob, and regained herself quickly. "Not false. My _hui xiong_ is always truthful. I should be punished for my fallacies."

"Cut that talk," he demanded. "Hell, I need someone t' put me in my place now 'n then."

She stroked his cheek tenderly. "Will Jayne really go after them? They are dangerous, more than Jayne thinks they are; followed us on Ariel."

He paused, knowing that Book was watching from the infirmary door but did nothing to acknowledge him. "They even_ think_ 'a takin' you back and makin' you a River husk, they'll be dead 'fore they can _finish_ thinkin' it, _dong ma_?"

She nodded, looking wobbly again, and burrowed back against him.

Simon started awake a few hours later in the dim infirmary. He looked frantically about, worried that something terrible had happened while he was unconscious. River lay asleep on the counter Kaylee had previously occupied, a big blanket covering her and her breaths coming in steady. On the complete opposite side of the room, Jayne sat on the floor, his back up against the cabinets and snoring lightly. The doctor felt horribly out of the loop, and feared his brain might twist itself into a knot.

Luckily, Book was reading in the corner behind Simon, and snapped his bible shut when the man shot up. "No need to fret, Doctor," Book assured him. Simon whipped around, then held his head in regret.

"Ohh, what happened?" he asked, trying to ignore the pain.

"Jayne restrained your sister after a completely humane struggle," Book said honestly. "Not a weapon was drawn." He looked down at Jayne, and something odd passed over his face. Looking back to Simon, it was gone. "I think his friendship with you may be affecting how he acts toward River as well."

Simon thought on this. "Huh." He winced again, then glanced apologetically at the preacher. "I'm sorry, but can we have this conversation when I have a few more milligrams of pain meds in me? River has a great right hook."

"So I've noticed," Book chuckled. He found what Simon asked for and ran him a cup of water to take it with. He took his leave politely, leaving the three of them to their sterile silence.

Kaylee met him by the foot of the stairs outside, peeking back and lowering her voice into a whisper. "Preacher, y' didn't--"

"So," he interrupted with a bright smile, "I understand there's a 'club' I'm now an inadvertent member of?"

Kaylee's smile brightened like a sunrise, and all she had to do was nod.

* * *

_ching wa tsao de liu mang - _frog-humping son of a bitch (there were several spellings, where I looked, so I chose the one that made the most sense phonetically) 

AN: Woo, that was intense. I've had this one in my head for a while, and I hope it doesn't disappoint. I'm rather liking more Simon, thought it's gonna be hard for him to keep out of the loop, way things are going. And don't worry 'bout the Turtle Club not showing up in this chapter; they'll be back for the next one. I'm honestly surprised I haven't written Book more, and I plan on making up for that. Here's to you, all you lovely people, and keep that awesome up!


	11. Justice

**Justice**

The girl had been sitting in the cockpit all day, looking pleased as punch in the copilot's chair as if she had the best secret in the 'Verse and wasn't going to tell anyone. Wash joined her halfway through the morning, raising his eyebrows knowingly and smirking at the girl. It was good to see her smiling after her outburst two days ago.

Simon and the Captain had outlined a new route to set down on one of the inner planets to restock the infirmary cabinets in a more honest way. While not quite on the Rim, Dorian was also considered the outermost of the Core planets. They'd be able to afford core-quality meds there, but with the most fanciful planets a good deal further in they'd be able to find a little more Rim support there as well.

The doctor was a little surprised when Jayne offered to go planetside with him to pick up the medication. It was a veiled offer but an offer nonetheless. Something about the doctor not being able to lift his own fork over his head. Simon accepted, asking only that Book make sure River stay as complacent as she had been while he was gone. The last thing he needed was for her to have another fit while he and the only other man capable of restraining her were off the ship.

Simon knew a great deal about Dorian, especially the capital, where _Serenity_ was authorized to dock for 24 hours. While he hadn't been off Osiris in his younger years, he'd been in contact with a group of men his own age here on Dorian for quite some time. Their senior member, Mikhail, was the man he'd contacted about the medications he needed for _Serenity_'s infirmary.

"Simon!" Mikhail greeted him warmly, shaking his hand and slapping him on the back. He was taller than the doctor, with shock-red hair and a smattering of freckles. He had a thick, muscular build not unlike Jayne, and a wide, white smile. The doctor grimaced, shaking his hand to regain the feeling.

"Mikhail, it's been too long. I was almost able to start using this hand again." He couldn't help but admire the man's verve as he laughed bright and hearty.

"Same old stick in the mud, I see." He turned to Jayne with a bemused expression. "Although the company is a little different. Who's this strapping fellow?"

"Ah, this is Jayne, my associate." He motioned between the two of them. "Jayne, this is Mikhail, an old friend of mine."

Jayne nodded, and that was all the greeting he offered. Mikhail shrugged, then turned back to Simon. "I got that list of medications you need, and it's no small feat to find them all in one place. Ariel'd be your best bet--"

"Been and done," Jayne said quickly.

"He's right. We've cleared the stores in Ariel's most prestigious hospital before. I'm afraid we wouldn't be welcomed back with open arms."

"Closed fists, more like, if I know my contacts back home," Mikhail said with a grin. "So, I may not be able to get you all you want, but most of the important things you'll find no problem." He looked to Jayne, who looked edgy and scratched at his ear unthinkingly. "Is this the brawn of the operation, then?"

"Well, I ain't no ruttin' beauty queen, Micky."

Mikhail laughed, to the relief of the doctor. "I like this one, Simon. Didn't ever think to see you run with that crowd, but it might do you some good in the long run."

"Like a hemorrhaging brain tumor?" Simon asked under his breath.

"Here's what I can do for you," Mikhail started, drawing them aside and out of foot traffic. "And it's completely legal, for your benefit. I know most of the medical sellers here, and could get you a few good deals. All I need you to do is look your adorable selves and wait with the stuff back in this alley while I take care of getting the rest of it." He patted a crate nearby. "All the hypos you asked for are in here, climate controlled of course. When I get back with the other supplies, you hand over the money and we'll off on our separate ways. I can't be seen associating with a fugitive of the law, after all."

"Too much of a bounty on your own head, Mikhail?" Simon asked with a smirk. The men jovially shook hands, Jayne scratching at his ear again and shifting his weight to his other foot. He and Mikhail exchanged a nod before the latter took off into the market. Simon sat on the crate crossed his arms, and looked about. Jayne poked his head out of the alley, looking impatient.

A long, fruitless wait began, and they both seemed unable to stand just sitting and waiting. Something about the way Jayne seemed to be waiting made Simon a little uncomfortable.

"Hey, Doc," he said at last. Simon looked up, wondering what conversation Jayne might possibly be able to offer.

"Yes?"

"Don't get all pissy on me. I got my reasons." He remained cryptic despite Simon's raised eyebrows.

"Reasons for what?"

"Simon Tam!" An authoritative voice sounded suddenly. Simon's spine stiffened, and he stood quickly from the crate. Jayne's face was impassive as stone, and the sound of footsteps were thundering closer. "You are bound under Alliance law to surrender and come with us!"

"Don't struggle none," Jayne advised, looking down the alley and away from the incredulous look of the doctor. "Trust me." He swung his eyes around finally to stare at Simon, and something shuddered to a stop inside the doctor. That look. That was a look that demanded blood. Someone was going to die today, and the thought made Simon's skin crawl. "I got my reasons, Doc."

Three well-armed Alliance policemen were suddenly in the alley, one wearing many shining brocades on his uniform. All three had guns pointed directly at Simon. His jaw was hanging in defeat, and he felt sick to his stomach. Not again.

"Where's the girl?" One of the men asked Jayne.

"Not rightly sure," he said in return, looking straight at Simon with a piercing look. "When I saw this fella down here purchasin' all kinds 'a meds, knew somethin' was screwy. Looked 'im up on the Cortex, and whadda ya know--he's got a nice bounty on his head, and some little waify girl too."

Simon's eyebrows drew up in question, but one glare from Jayne silenced him immediately. He felt the handcuffs latch onto his wrists with a plummeting fear.

"All right," the leader cut in, not taking eyes from Simon. "He probably has the girl hidden away somewhere on the planet." He turned to one of his men, "Check all the transports on the dock to make sure no one under the name Tam is registered to leave. If they won't let you on board, flash your badge."

"That there Firefly's the ship I'm workin' on," Jayne said casually. "We got ourselves a right strange crew, but ain't no little girls on board."

The leader nodded, then motioned for the man to go out to the transports. "Mr. Jamison," he said in Jayne's direction, "we thank you for detaining this man. I know we've been secretive on the nature of his crimes, but--"

"Don't need t' know why ya want 'im. Just glad t' have a dangerous fella like him off the streets." He paused, and Simon saw a spark of something behind that mask. "What y'all gonna do with him now that ya got 'im?"

"A pair of gentlemen working for the Alliance have been looking for the Tams for quite some time now. They've offered you quite a sum of money for your capture, Mr. Jamison, and hope that you will accompany us to our own transport to exchange fugitive for your reward. A shame he didn't have the girl with him, or the amount might be larger."

Jayne reached up to scratch at his ear, then he nodded. "Sounds good t' me. Where's that ship, now?"

"Docked on upper level A of the government building very near here. It's a short distance to walk, Mr. Jamison, if you wouldn't mind walking with us."

Jayne smirked infinitesimally, Simon saw. He had no idea what was going on, but he had an idea that he was going to find out sooner than later. They took the back walkways so as to avoid the public eye with a government fugitive. Jayne walked behind Simon, hands in his pockets and clearing his throat now and again. The tall, oppressive government building loomed above, a jutting spire cutting into the sky. In its shadow, Simon felt small and weak, and a terrible ice came into his blood. This was it. He was going to jail, and River...

"Ah, right on time," a new voice said. The procession halted. Simon took in his surroundings: the building was tall almost directly overhead; they were a block from their destination, hidden in a dark back alley perfect for underhanded negotiations. From the shadows before them, there stepped two dark-suited men, too well-dressed to be well-meaning. One held a briefcase, and that was when Simon noticed the blue gloves adorning the hands of both men. He didn't know why, but the sight drove his heart further into his stomach. He glanced at Jayne, whose jaw was clenched and set, eyes burning balls of hate set into his face.

"Do forgive me for seeming rude," the leader of the Alliance men said, "but I was told we would meet on the landing pad for prisoner transfer."

"Yes, you see," the second blue-handed man said with a shrug, "we are terribly afraid of heights. We find this meeting place far more suitable for our needs."

"Right..." He didn't seem convinced, but these men obviously held a higher standing and therefore were the higher authority in this situation. "Simon Tam, as promised."

"And the girl?"

"Probably hidden away. I doubt she will be far."

"Thank you, Captain Marx." One of the blue-hands latched his fingers around Simon's handcuffs and pulled him away from the Alliance policemen and Jayne. "Your services here are no longer needed. Your share in the reward will be wired to your account."

"That isn't what--"

"Captain Marx," the shorter of the blue-hands said with an icy, joyless chuckle, "we assure you that everything about our dealings is completely legitimate." He nodded to Jayne. "And if you will follow us, Mr. Jamison, we will hand over your share in the reward."

"'Bout ruttin' time..." He cleared his throat, scratched at his ear, then shoved his hands into his pockets and followed the blue-hands. Captain Marx and his man dejectedly turned about and exited the alley.

"You are sure that you did not see the girl at any time, Mr. Jamison?" One of the men asked once Marx and his man had disappeared. The other opened the briefcase and had reached inside for something. "She is a very special girl, and we would be rather upset if something were to have happened to her."

"Nope," Jayne said calmly.

The shorter blue-hand smirked coldly. "Well, then..." He turned to face his colleague, who had grasped something inside the briefcase.

"Y'know, _speakin_' on River Tam," Jayne said, his gun suddenly pressed firmly against the back of the man's neck, "I'm wonderin' just _why_ it is a couple 'a gents like you find it so gorram fascinatin' cuttin' into a little girl's brain."

Everything in the alley went cold and silent. Simon's jaw hung open, looking from Jayne to the blue-hand. It all seemed to be coming together in Simon's brain, and rather fast. Jayne shoved the muzzle of his pistol hard against the soft spot in the man's skull, looking savage.

"Hey I'm _talkin'_ at you! You better LISTEN t' me when I'm talkin', y' worthless sack 'a _go se_! You tell me why you cut open that little girl and maybe I don't paint this alley with your pretty little brains!"

The taller blue-hand just might have reached into his own pocket for a weapon, but there was a familiar click of a gun from behind him. Susan had her own muzzle pressed against the man's head, held by the slender white fingers of River Tam. Simon about had a heart attack.

"River?!" He was able to cough out. Jayne thankfully knocked him out with the butt of a second gun, so he would interfere as little as possible. He dropped to the ground at Jayne's feet.

"Put it down," River demanded. Her blue-hand dropped the innocuous-looking short staff with a clatter. Wordlessly, the girl crushed it under the heel of her boot.

"How you doin', darlin'?" Jayne asked without taking his eyes from the blue-hand before him. He reached into his ear and pulled out the transmitter there. River followed his action, looking to be glad of the thing in her ear.

"Better," she said, cocking Susan and grinning grimly. "Watch them bleed."

"Now," Jayne prompted, "how 'bout that story?"

The blue-hand coughed a laugh. "You expect us to give you some satisfaction by divulging the reasoning behind River Tam's experimentation? You must be some sort of--"

Jayne cut him of by blowing a fist-sized hole in the back of his head. The man crumpled to the ground at his feet, near Simon. "Now, I _told_ ya..." He wiped the man's blood from his face, then looked seriously at the man River was holding captive. "Look here... ya see, my girl ain't as forgivin' as I am. Ya managed to piss her off by cuttin' into her brain and the like, and she ain't too happy. She's the one with the gun at yer head, in case you're thick."

The man spat at the ground in front of Jayne. "You don't even know what this girl is capable of. She could kill you by breathing on you hard enough. And you chose to defend her when you should exterminate her. A bigger fool than you look."

It was River's turn to blow a hole in someone's head, and he, too, fell to the ground. Two more shots were popped off into him, precise into his jugular and femoral artery. For good measure, she shot the man Jayne had killed once in the face from where she stood. Satisfied, she holstered Susan and tore her eyes from their bodies.

"Justice has been served," she said with a quivering lip.

Without having to be told, Jayne stepped forward and caught the exhausted girl in his arms and pulled her close. Both were covered in foreign blood and both letting go of the bloodlust they'd been carrying in silence. She looked up at him as he guided them to the ground on one knee. He knew she'd never been more beautiful. The way she kissed him then was the sweetest and softest thing she'd ever done to him, and made him all weak on the inside like he'd never felt before. They should go out killing more often.

Mikhail had loaded all of the supplies onto the ship when they arrived back. Jayne had Simon slung over his shoulder and River holding tightly onto his hand. He lay the doctor down atop one of the sturdy med crates, huffing slightly at the strain. River stayed clutched to his hand as he turned to the smirking redhead and sighed.

"You look like death incarnate," Mikhail noted, looking smug.

"Yeah, heard it all before. You get everythin' the doc needed?"

"Everything I could get on planet. Also, that Alliance boob you sent here to the docks is taken care of." He nodded at the bloodied pair. "I take it you got your Rim-brand justice served?"

River nodded. "Thank you, Mikhail. Your services will be well-compensated."

"Sure hope so." He shook hands with Jayne, then River. "He looks pretty bad," he said in regards to Simon.

"Just him 'im over the head. He'll be up and complainin' sooner'n I'd like." He dug into his pocket and produced Mikhail's spoils. "Hey, don't s'pose you could head on over 'n make sure them blue-hands is all corpsified like they're s'posed t' be? Never can tell who's dead 'n who's not anymore."

"Will do," Mikhail agreed, taking his money and pocketing it with a happy grin. "You two stay shiny and take care of that doctor, won't you?"

River smiled and squeezed Jayne's hand. "Taken care of."

Zoe was in the cargo hold by the time Mikhail was just leaving. She scanned an eye over the two of them, the cargo and the unconscious doctor in one move, then hurried down the stairs to stand beside them.

"Jayne, if I can be blunt, what the _hell_? Wasn't this s'posed t' be a quick and easy drug run for the doctor?"

"Got sidetracked," Jayne said with a growing grin.

No one could remember seeing Jayne this happy. He whistled sprightly as he sprang into the galley that night for dinner. Simon was administering pain meds to himself in the infirmary, and when he arrived late for dinner, was met with the strange sight of a grinning Jayne and peaceful River sitting beside one another and talking quietly as if nothing had happened that day. They shared a glance between the two of them, something Simon hadn't noticed before, and it shook him.

Simon, wide-eyed and unsure of what exactly was happening to everyone on this ship, sat down. He didn't know how or why he was still on the ship, but it had something to do with Jayne and River. He didn't know what had happened to the blue-gloved men, but it had something to do with those two sitting across the table from him. If they weren't going to talk about it that night, they would talk eventually. There needed to be some talking. But it could wait until morning, until his massive headache disappeared. Then, there would be some _serious_ talking. But until then, he observed the back-and-forth between his sister and the big merc beside her with furtive glances.

* * *

AN: Heeeeeey there. Sorry this took so freakin' long, but my internet connections here are very very intermitent. I'm hoping to have one chapter up a week, so the updates won't be as fast and furious as they used to be. But I guess that gives more time for y'all to enjoy them. I hope this one's up to standards; whoever guessed the blue-hands would be back was right. I feel I coulda done more with them, but this just seemed to work for me. Hope ya like, leave me some love, and I'm off to get the next chapter ready! Have a good weekend! 


	12. Pride

**Pride**

Mal wasn't a ruttin' messenger boy. If the Doc wanted to find his sister, he should be out doing it himself. Oh, sure, he was running inventory after having picked up a load of medication in the capital city, but that didn't mean he couldn't take a little break to search the ship for his little sister. Mal grumbled and complained as he walked about the ship, checking crannies for any crazy little girls.

He found her in the galley, the gun she had borrowed from Jayne disassembled before her. She held one of the many pieces in her hand, and was cleaning and shining it carefully. She looked up as Mal walked into the galley, then looked back down at the pieces.

"What ya got there, Li'l Albatross?" Mal asked as he moved to stand behind her.

"Susan," she said as she began fitting some of the pieces together. "Must be very careful. Jayne loves his guns. Must not scratch her or harm her. His most prized possessions."

"Woah, back up," Mal had to sit down for this. "Jayne's guns? _That's _one 'a Jayne's guns?" River nodded, and continued to assemble the pretty pistol. Mal looked a little befuddled, having never seen anyone but Jayne handle Jayne's guns.

He decided he didn't want to think about it right then. He had too much on his plate with an eminent take-off, a psychic with a mercenary's gun, and an addled doctor on his hands. He chose the easiest route of the moment and chose not to think about any of them.

"Your brother wants you, but I think you already knew that. And when you get down there, you tell him I'm Captain not a ruttin' messenger boy."

She smiled pleasantly at the man as she completed reconstructing Susan. "Yes, sir." She stood, and lovingly placed Susan snugly in her holster. She bounded out of the galley like she wasn't packing heat on her hip, twirled once and disappeared.

"Least _someone_ has some respect on this ship..." Mal told himself he had a headache and retreated to his bunk to forget about everyone acting screwy on his boat.

"River," Simon said once he had her sitting and quiet on the exam table before him, "I didn't ask last night because I didn't want to involve anyone else. This is just between the three of us: you, me, and Jayne."

She smiled broadly. "The three bears. Mother, father and child, all with porridge too hot to eat. The child complains, and Mother knows best." She patted his cheek comfortingly. He smirked slightly, then pulled her hand from his cheek to hold it firmly in his.

"_Mei mei_, this is very serious business. I need to know what happened, and I don't want to bring Jayne in here just yet..."

"This is an improper interrogation room," she said suddenly, pulling the bright overhead surgery light close and switching it on. "Needs better lighting." Simon switched the light off and moved it away.

"Please? I need to know."

River sighed and settled back into her seat. "The hands of blue," she said at first. Simon nodded.

"Yes, the men with the blue gloves."

"If Simon wants to hear the story he will _stop interrupting_," River said with lidded eyes. Her brother smirked embarrassedly, then mimed a zipper across his lips. River nodded haughtily, then continued.

"Father Bear protects his Mother Bear," she said, patting Susan comfortingly. "Simon was a distraction, and unfortunately had to be silenced. Blood of the blue-hands was not blue, surprisingly. Very human, very red."

"You mean to say that you killed the both of them?"

"Papa Bear and I. Covered in the red blood." Simon looked dubious, at which River's eyebrows tilted upward. He never thought she would look so sad in defense of Jayne. "Not the double-crosser you think him to be. For our protection. The Father Bear protects his family."

"We aren't his family, River."

A little grin took her, childish and mischievous. "Not _yet_."

It was a well-needed day of rest for the crew. They'd set in at a lesser-populated town on Dorian, Moore's Trace, that needed the commerce that a transport ship like _Serenity_ could bring. Mal needed Zoe to head over to the trader's commons to maybe pick up a job or two with him, but beside the two of them, it was free-reign for the crew.

Kaylee had somehow wrangled Simon into taking her out on the town that afternoon. Most figured it had something to do with how she batted her big eyes at him. Jayne silently felt sorry for the doctor; he knew what it was like, now, to get that doe-eyed look and not be able to do anything about it.

Wash had decided to accompany his wife, considering the minimal level of danger and having her company after the dealings were done. Being on as respectable a planet as Dorian was good enough for Inara, and after purchasing a few niceties, she was on her shuttle searching for new clientele. Book had taken it upon himself to look after River at Simon's request. She claimed to be able to look after herself, but Simon would feel better if he at least asked someone to help out.

Jayne was showing off his guns.

While this was an inner planet, it still wasn't as fanciful as Osiris or Ariel. And while not quite Whitefall, it was also half Rim-planet. The odd combination of cultures clashed in some places, like the capital, but it melded in some of the smaller communities like Moore's Trace. And that was the reason Jayne could gather such a crowd with his guns.

"Y'see this one here's my LeMat," he said as he held up the gleaming pistol to let it catch the sun. The seven children, all with accompanying adults, gathered in a semi-circle around him 'ooh'ed at the shiny metallic of the deadly weapon. "This'n belonged t' my pa long time ago, handed down in the family longer'n I can remember. First and best thing he ever gave t' me."

"What about that one?" The oldest boy asked, pointing to the heavy gun strapped across Jayne's chest.

"Oh, this? This here's Vera, my very favorite gun. Full-bore auto lock, custom trigger. Got 'er in a tussle with these six other fellas. This girl here? My pride 'n joy, that's what she is. Ain't a better gun or a better shot in the 'Verse."

"Is that so?" A new, familiar voice joined those of the children. Jayne looked up to see River and the baby-sitting Book standing at the edge of the semicircle of onlookers. The girl was smirking, looking innocent and naive, two things Jayne knew she wasn't. Book was looking mighty smug, by the look on his face. He'd probably led the girl right to him.

"Well, yeah, I b'lieve it is," Jayne answered matter-of-factly.

"True of the gun or the man?" She asked.

He puffed out his chest importantly. "Hell, I'd bet on both of 'em!"

She grinned, then pulled out the newly-cleaned, impressive looking pistol against her hip. "Susan disagrees. She thinks that _she_ is the best gun in the 'Verse." She strode through the crowd of children, which had grown in number since River had arrived. She poked at Jayne's chest with Susan's muzzle, something that made Book look a little edgy. "Susan and I say that Jayne should put Vera to the test."

"That a challenge, little girl?" He asked with a curling grin.

"Wager?"

A great deal of things ran through Jayne's mind, but the way her face screwed up made him rethink his tactics. "Winner's choice. Nothin' nasty, though. Cap'n wouldn't approve 'a you runnin' around in nothin' but your skin."

"Or you," she said with a laugh, scrunching up her nose. "Agreed." She held out her hand, which he shook firmly. The look that passed between them could have charged the air around them, a fact not lost on Wash and Zoe as they approached arm in arm.

"Oh, God," Wash said, cocking his head as Jayne and River prepared their guns without taking eyes off one another. "It's like some sort of animalistic foreplay..."

"What's goin' on, Shepherd?" Zoe asked.

"I believe I asked the same question the last time these two got themselves in a wager. Although, I'm afraid there are firearms involved this time around." He pointed between the two shooters. "From what I can guess, River has challenged Jayne and his favorite gun to a shoot-out to see who is the better."

"They're not shooting each other, are they?" One of the gathered children asked. None of the adults could assure anything, unfortunately.

"Hey," Jayne said as he knelt beside the smallest child of the group, a girl who couldn't be more than five. "You know your words, yet?"

"Yes," the girl said defensively. "Lots of them."

"Well, how 'bout you stop bein' a smartass and get us a couple'a cans or somethin' to shoot at, all right?" She stared at him until he growled a sigh and dropped a shiny coin into her hand. She and her little friend zoomed off to fetch a few good targets.

By the time the girls had found them and set them up along a fence a good pace away, a greater crowd had gathered to see the event. Something was intriguing about the girl with big brown eyes challenging the big, muscled man. But the more interesting draw were the quick glances between the two, something that set every watcher on edge and drew them in at the same time.

Vera was cocked and loaded, a heavy muscled action that shushed the murmuring. Susan was quieter, with a little click of the hammer. Silence, then, for a dreadful moment.

A violent _bang_ sounded suddenly, making most in the gathered crowd jump. Susan was smoking, and the girl holding her smirking. Jayne barely had time to furrow his brow before the girl had popped off three more shots, never taking her eye off of him, and downing three more cans effortlessly. Her opponent wasted no more time, and Vera let loose with two dead shots to take out two cans simultaneously.

The action came too fast for most to follow. It came too fast for Jayne to follow. The girl moved smooth and quick, something that made his throat run dry and his grip falter. In what seemed like one split second, the rest of the targets were hers. Some had been shot twice before they fell. No one dared to speak. River brushed the hair from her eyes and smirked pleasantly up at the man beside her. She hadn't even broken a sweat.

Her smile faltered instantly when she saw an unfamiliar mask take hold of Jayne's face. A terrible mix of emotions slammed against her like a wall, and the shock was evident on her face. Jayne was angry, and a little hurt--more than anything, she realized, she'd broken something in him with that little display. He looked around at the crowd, knit his brow, and gave a loud huff. Without a word, he spun on his heel and stalked away.

River didn't even get to apologize. The crowd didn't know what to do with itself. Some picked up the fallen cans. The children rushed about to gather the fallen cartridges. The girl recognized the warm feeling of Zoe approaching from behind, and her hand landed on the girl's shoulder comfortingly. Big brown eyes turned to stare pleadingly up.

"I don't comprehend. Our wager was legitimate. Why does Jayne feel so red?" She still clutched Susan unthinkingly.

"It ain't your fault, honey," Zoe said, looking off to where Jayne had trudged. Back to the ship. "You're right. You won fair'n square. There's no fair reason Jayne should be upset with ya. But things like this ain't always fair."

"What Zoe is trying to say," Shepherd Book said as he stepped forward, "is that men all have pride in one thing they have or that they do. Your man isn't used to being outgunned by anyone, let alone _you_."

"Knew what he was getting when he signed up," River said with a pronounced pout.

"Unfortunately, that's not the point," Wash added, sighing and adding his hand to River's free shoulder. "Now, I can understand someone being able to fly better than me. But if Zoe suddenly showed me up in front of a crowd of people, I'd be a little miffed. I'd still love her," he added with a grin at his wife, "but there are some things that we need to be good at, as your men. I mean... What if Jayne suddenly got a brain out of nowhere and outdid you in front of an academic panel?"

"A little miffed," she admitted, looking toward where Serenity was docked.

The boat was empty; everyone was out having a time and Jayne was sulking in the galley. He felt a little childish doing so, but something about being shown up by that girl was both infuriating and admirable. He wanted to be proud of her and, at the same time, he felt cheated to have his one use on this ship contested by that girl. If it'd been someone else...

She didn't surprise him as she appeared behind him, slipping thin arms around his neck and burying her face there comfortingly. He didn't make a move either way.

"I'm very sorry, Jayne," she murmured. "I am sure Vera is a wonderful gun. Didn't mean to discredit her."

He didn't answer for a good pause. "She's awful hurt, ya know. She's an emotional gal, Vera."

"Oh, Jayne," her little voice turned up slightly, and, after only a brief pause and shift of position, she had crawled effortlessly to sit curled in his lap. "I know it's yours. Your job, not mine. She promises to return Susan, lock away the key, never fire her again, just don't be angry with her anymore, Jayne. She could stand Simon or Kaylee, but not Jayne. Please, don't be red anymore, _hui xiong_."

When he didn't answer, she could feel sadness bubbling up in her chest, and she cursed herself inwardly for having no control over her emotions. Just as she began to shake, she felt his comforting hand anchor itself on the small of her back.

"Now, cut that out," he told her in a small voice. "I ain't angry and you know it. I'm just a little... Hell, I don't know. Just never been showed-up like that before."

She smiled against him, tightening her grip around his neck. His fingers ran smoothly through her long hair, something that had always calmed her considerably. She released all of the tension in her and simply slumped against him.

"Very sorry, Jayne," she murmured against his neck, pulling one kiss from the flesh there before levering herself to watch his eyes.

"Yeah, I know." He ran a big hand up and down the length of her spine in thought. "Thinkin' on it, s'more my fault. So don't get your panties in a bunch or anythin' when I act like a big oversized kid. I don't know no better."

She shook her head with a smile. "My _hui xiong_. Big protective Papa Bear." Her fingers felt their way through his short hair. "Haven't asked for my prize. Won the wager fair and square."

He shrugged, playing unthinkingly with the hem of her short skirt. "Yeah. 'Sides the fact y' had yer brain fiddled with." He smirked to show the jocularity of his comment. She huffed slightly.

"What should I demand as my prize?" She thought on it for a short moment, then grinned giddily. "Susan."

"What, keep 'er?" He asked suddenly, sitting up a little straighter. "_Ni zi_, I don't think that'd sit well with the Cap'n--"

"Have been keeping her safe for ages," she defended. "Captain Reynolds hasn't noticed until today. Didn't seem miffed." She leaned down gracefully and angled her head to kiss him short and sweet. Lingering just barely above his lips, she smirked. "I would like Susan, Jayne."

He offered a mix between a growl and a groan, pressing forward to capture her hovering lips again. Thankfully, she let him. She teased him, pulling back just barely before darting into him again, brushing his lower lip with the tip of her tongue then denying him access with a playful smirk. He couldn't decide whether he liked being toyed with or not, but she definitely made him hot by being such a tease about it. Just the way she wanted it. He bunched the fabric of her skirt up the further up her thigh he inched his hand. Wanting to keep the upper hand, she caught his bottom lip between her teeth and bit down lightly. His hand gripped instinctually at her upper thigh, and he uttered a low noise in the back of his throat.

She released his lip from her teeth to place her voice directly over his ear. "I would like Susan, Jayne," she repeated. He groaned, knowing there was nothing he could do.

"All right," he conceded at last, feeling lightheaded and glad he was sitting down. "Keep the gun, just--" He kissed her soundly. "Such a gorram _tease_..."

Wash and Zoe arrived back first, the former worried and looking around for Jayne's limbs strewn about the place. They needn't have worried, however. Wash reeled backward, crying out and covering his eyes with both hands as he walked into the galley. He'd found River sitting on the table, arms linked behind Jayne's head as he stood before her, kissing quite openly and loudly. One of her knees had been hooked around his hip, his big hand having bunched her skirt up and his fingers flared out on her backside--pink underwear, quite fancy.

At Wash's sudden and loud entrance, Jayne jumped backward like he'd been shot, and River lost her balance and fell back on the table with an 'oof!' All three looked as if they'd been caught in the headlights and were about to be smashed into millions of pieces.

"Oh, God, I _eat_ on that table!" Wash said at last, white as a sheet. Zoe was laughing despite herself behind her husband.

"They had all their clothes on, Wash," Zoe said as she walked past him into the galley, patting her husband on the shoulder. "Be glad for that."

Mal found it odd the way Wash stared white-faced at the table that night at dinner, but no one said a word about it. As River swished into the room, smirking widely, Simon observed that Jayne's pistol was still in the holster around her little waist. Without looking up from his plate of food, Jayne scooted the chair beside him out from the table, and the girl sat beside him wordlessly. A sick feeling settled into Simon's stomach as everything started clicking together in his head, like a puzzle whose final piece had been missing for months and suddenly found. The doctor excused himself from the table after only another five minutes sitting in silence. He didn't return that night, and River found him in an uncomfortable sleep when she came down to the passenger dorms herself.

* * *

AN: DUN DUN DUNN! Cliffhanger-esque, I know, and I'm sorry. The next few chapters are the last; I think I have three after this one. Virture, vice, virtue. I'll bet you've narrowed down what vice is left (bwahahaha!) and therefore can draw your own conclusions as to what the climax and denoument of this story are to be. Glad to see you guys are still rallying behind me, and your support sends me soaring on wings of love! The next chapter is almost done, so it depends on when I get my lovely internets again after this as to when you'll be seeing it. Thanks much for reading, and STAY COOL! 


	13. Courage

**Courage**

"I hereby call this meeting of the Secret-Turtle Club to order," Wash announced, holding up his teacup. Kaylee mirrored his move, snickering at the oddity of the title. Zoe and Book looked at each other questioningly, the latter murmuring 'turtle?' Inara shook her head, hiding her smirk.

"First order of business: how do we keep the good doctor and our strapping captain from barging in here and finding out we're talking about Jayne and River?" Before anyone could make a suggestion, he continued. "I say we implement a series of code names. I think I should be 'Snake.' Can I be Snake? Please? I'd make a good Snake."

"You can be Snake, honey," Zoe said off-handedly.

"Inara, you can be 'Red'," he continued without provocation. "Kaylee, how about you call yourself Cookie?"

"'Cause I'm so sweet?" She caught on quickly, and he flashed her a grin.

"Sorry to interrupt," Inara cut in, "but if anyone should be getting a nickname, shouldn't it be River and Jayne?"

"Oh, Jayne should _definitely_ be 'Pants.' Even if River doesn't get a code name, who would know?"

"I don't think I follow the logic," Book admitted, looking down at his tea.

"Think about it. 'Did you see the way River was looking at Pants today?' or 'Gee, River sure seems to like Pants an awful lot.' It's perfect _and_ sneaky!"

"As perfectly sneaky as it is, everyone going around the ship with nicknames is likely to raise suspicion," Book said. Wash looked downtrodden for a short moment, then perked up suddenly.

"How about a sign then?" He held up one hand before him and punctuated each word as if it were being written before him. "'No Captains Allowed.' No, wait. 'No Captains or Doctors Allowed.' No, I got it. 'Quarantine: Cooties Outbreak.' Sorry to fill up your shuttle with cooties, Inara."

"Don't worry about it, Wash," Inara said with a smile. "I've had my cooties shot since third grade."

"Just ignore my husband," Zoe suggested, smirking at him and squeezing his shoulder. "What we got t' start worryin' about is how much this thing is gettin' on. From what Kaylee's tellin' me, Jayne ain't so much afraid of what's gonna happen t' him someone finds him with River anymore. One 'a these days, it ain't gonna be the preacher that finds 'em together."

"Aww, that mean they gotta stop bein' so adorable?" Kaylee's lower lip pouted outward.

"I wouldn't say adorable as much as horrifying and a little bit nauseating..." Wash shuddered slightly. "I don't think 'Jayne' and 'adorable' should be used in the same sentence unless it's 'Jayne just killed and defiled an adorable little animal.'"

"Shh," Inara warned at once. They realized why when, in another few short moments, Mal barged into the shuttle and brushed aside a hanging curtain to make himself known.

"'Nara, I was wonderin' if you might know--" He cut himself off as he entered to find not only Inara but an array of people gathered around her small table holding steaming cups of tea. Each looked as confused as the next, all staring up at their captain and awaiting judgement. At last: "What you all doin' in the shuttle all conspiratorial-like?"

Zoe was the only one brave enough to have an answer. "Tea party, sir."

Mal looked at every single one of them as if they had suddenly lost twenty years, then shook his head, grinding the heel of his palm into one eye wearily. "S'long as you aren't plannin' a mutiny, I don't ruttin' wanna know right now. Wash, need you on the bridge to take us out in twenty." He turned out of the shuttle, muttering about space monkeys and wormholes.

The old hamster in Mal's brain was staring to wheeze and take to a slow gait in its wheel. All but three of his crew had been in that shuttle, tea party or not. Mal wasn't the most observant man, but he also wasn't stupid. Luckily, he knew that River was eating in the galley, the doctor was in the infirmary as usual, and Jayne was in the cargo bay, loading up the latest shipment as they made ready to lift off from Dorian. Moore's Trace had given them a client as well as given _Serenity_ a belly full of cargo. It wasn't their most fanciful nor their most dull shipment, simply mundane and run-of-the-mill. Mal hoped that the drop-off would be as simple as the pick-up and the nature of the cargo, but there was only so much one could leave up to hope.

"Jayne!" Mal called down from the catwalk to where the merc was hefting large crates to secure them against the wall.

"Yeah, Cap'n?" Jayne called back without looking up.

"Got any idea why there's a ruttin' tea party goin' on in 'Nara's shuttle?"

"Honest, Mal, I think yer askin' the wrong guy 'bout tea parties." He paused and grunted as he sat down the crate, wiped his brow and looked up at Mal. "Why doncha go ask the Doc? Sure he knows his fair share on tea parties."

"Hey, how about _this_? You finish loadin' that cargo then _you_ go talk to the doctor. He's been askin' after ya long enough, think you two were married. I got a ship t' captain."

Jayne grumbled, picking another crate from the arms of their client as Mal turned and left. "This the last of it?"

"Yeah, that's it. Fifteen crates of the finest tobacco credits can buy," the man said, looking proudly upon Jayne's work. "Now, I'll be expecting you fine boys to come back with my money, granted having taken your fair share from the profits. I know how important a part the transport plays in a situation like this. You'd be surprised how low the market for good tobacco like this is on Dorian."

"Don't really care," Jayne grumbled as he strapped the last of the cargo down. "Ain't my job t' make sure you get your cut. S'my job t' make sure I get _mine_. You want sympathy, talk to the Cap'n."

"No need to get snippy, friend," the man said, looking hurt. Obviously, he was more Core than Rim, by his demeanor. Jayne smirked condescendingly. He ushered the man out when Wash called over the com for take-off in five. He punched the console once, closing the airlock up. The familiar rumble of the engines under his feet was comforting--he was getting to the point where he preferred being out flying than stuck planetside.

A small hand on his arm didn't quite startle him, but broke him from his reverie. River was looking up with bright brown eyes that stared him down as if she'd been taller than him.

"He wants to know," she said at once, without introduction. She had a way of entering a conversation halfway through, as if he should have been listening in her head the whole time. He sighed, his big frame sagging as he leaned back against the railing of the stairs behind him.

"Yeah? Who wants t' know what?"

"Simon. Must know what Papa Bear and Mama Bear are up to."

Jayne paused for an awkward moment, processed it, then cocked a single eyebrow at her. "What... You think we should just go on an' tell him?"

"Wants to speak with you about the blue-hands. Perfect opportunity."

"Why's it gotta be me?" He felt a little exasperated, and worried about what the Doc could kill him with in that infirmary of his. "He likes you better."

"The girl is crazy," she said with a smirk. "Could all be a flight of fancy in her convoluted mind. Jayne is blunt. Never twists his words."

"'Cause I'm _sane_?"

"Would rather he find us in throes of noisy passion?" She asked, batting her big eyes at him.

Jayne shook his head quickly, too quickly. River laughed, high and bright. "Hell, little bear, I ain't _afraid_ 'a your brother, just don't want him stickin' me with somethin' that'll kill me when he thinks I been takin' advantage of his little sister, is all."

She smiled innocuously, which was more startling than if she had let out a string of maniacal laughter. "Wash's lessons on flying continue today," she said absently. "He is the leaf, I am the bird, and we soar on the wind."

He shook his head. "You're all sorts 'a confusin' sometimes." He cast a glance about for any peering eavesdroppers, then tipped her chin up to kiss her once. She grinned in a girlish way, then disappeared with a twirl of her skirt up the stairs he was leaning against.

_Serenity_ shook under his feet. They were up.

Simon counted over the supplies Mikhail had picked up for them in the capital city. He swore to himself that directly after this chore, he was up to find Jayne and sort this whole blue-hand mess out once and for all. He was going to make the man sit down and explain everything to him in minute and excruciating detail, down to the blood spatter.

"All right, Doc," Jayne's voice came suddenly as he barged unannounced into the infirmary. "Sit yer ass down and listen, 'cause I'm only goin' through this once, got it?" The two stared each other down, neither moving an inch. Jayne finally inclined his head at the exam table. "I mean it, Doc, yer gonna want t' be sittin' down for this."

"Oh God," Simon muttered as he lowered himself to sit on the exam table. "This is enormous news; you've finally evolved, haven't you? Should I alert the press or have you taken the liberty already?"

"Don't do that, all right?" Jayne said defensively, bristling at the unwarranted attack. Simon's well-meaning smirk fell off his face at once. Jayne shrugged to adjust his spine and resolve. "You wanna hear what went down planetside with them blue-hands or not? 'Cause if not I know where you can shove--"

"No, no," Simon stood again, waving his hands before him in surrender. "I want to hear it."

"Well then, sit," Jayne grumbled in reply. Simon did so, looking a little sheepish to be taking orders from the merc. Jayne peeked his head out of the infirmary door, then shut it fast behind him. Simon's eyebrows knit perplexedly.

"Something you're trying to hide?"

"I ain't told no one what happened, and I know you ain't 'cause I'm not knee-deep in _go se_ yet. Best we keep this 'tween you me and the _ni zi_, Doc."

"The _ni_... River?" He almost sneered but checked himself in time. "Well, that's a better nickname than 'moonbrain' anyhow..."

"You gonna let me talk or not?"

"No, I'm finished interjecting. Continue." As Simon waved absently in Jayne's direction, he saw the man's eye twitch almost imperceptibly. Then Jayne's spine slackened, and he suddenly lost the resolve behind his eyes. He paced to the back of the infirmary, where he ran a big hand through his short hair, then down over his face.

He was _nervous_. It wasn't often Simon saw this man nervous, the best and perhaps only example pertaining to Ariel and selling he and River out to the government. The change in demeanor was unexpected at best, perplexing and strange. Jayne didn't get nervous. He was confident and boastful by nature, and to see him exposed made _Simon_ feel nervous. As unsettling as it was, Simon felt inexplicably connected somehow to him at that moment, and his brows unknit themselves with ease.

"I'm not Mal," Simon said simply. Jayne looked up, unsure of the doctor's meaning. "I don't jump to conclusions--I think. I sit and I listen. As terrible a person you must think me to be, for reasons unknown," he laughed self-depreciatingly and shrugged, "I've been told I have a rather impressive bedside manner. _Which means_--" he added quickly before Jayne's mind could jump to conclusions, "--that I'm good at listening to people who are going to die."

Unexpectedly, Jayne barked out a laugh. "Hell, Doc, not sure how that's s'posed t' make me feel any better."

"Start at the beginning. That's usually good."

Jayne leaned casually back on the counter behind him, crossing his arms and staring at his feet. He wasn't sure how Simon had done it, but he'd reinforced his resolve. He shook his head with a sidelong smirk, then looked back up, back in his zone.

"When y'all waved that friend 'a yours--Mikhail--I got his number and waved 'im right back after you was gone. Me and him cooked up this plan t' corner those blue-hand fellas and beat 'em at their own game. I'd get ya planetside, have that boy distract ya while I called the feds--"

"Wait, wait, go back," Simon interrupted, looking about as if he'd missed something. "Who _were_ the blue-hands? What did River have to do with all of this?"

"So much for not interruptin'," Jayne grumbled, mussing his hair in thought. "Don't rightly know egg-xactly who those fellas were, just know what they done." The pause then was full of such darkness and hate that Simon felt it sink into his own heart, and he felt heavy with it. "They cut into her head, made 'er go all crazy without even askin'. Hell, didn't even buy 'er a drink first."

Simon's jaw hung slack. "So, the Academy--"

"I ain't done yet," Jayne interjected. "Like I said, this story's only gettin' told once, so listen sharp."

"Right," Simon mused, folding his hands before his mouth, his focus blurring in thought.

"Understand, I had t' knock ya out like that, or you'd 'a made a fuss somehow and blown the plan straight t' hell. Weren't no personal attack or nothin', just how it works."

"Yes, the doctor unconscious for a gunfight; it sounds perfectly logical."

Jayne held up one finger, pointing severely. Simon nodded absently, showing his continuing silence as he stared at the floor under him.

"We got one each, me and the _ni zi_. Shot 'em dead, right through the ruttin' brainpan." Jayne mimed the action of holding up and firing a pistol, mouthing '_pow_' with a grin. "She just smiled and cried and--" He lowered his hands, losing his own smile and looking to his feet. "Well, we kinda got carried away, I guess."

Simon's eyebrows lowered dangerously, looking pale. "Explain."

"I kissed your sister, Doc!" Jayne finally gave up the act, throwing his arms up and beginning to pace again. "On the mouth and everything. Plenty 'a times before and after, too." He paused, awaiting death. "Mostly before," he offered as a last-minute addendum.

Simon was silent for quite some time, gnawing on his lower lip in thought, not looking back up at Jayne until he had thought everything through. He raised his eyebrows, eyes still trained on his feet dangling above the ground from his position atop the exam table.

"And you two--"

"_Not_ what you're thinkin' on, Doc," Jayne said quickly, defending both his honor and River's. "We ain't... No, just--_no_."

"And you haven't--"

"Not _once_. Swear on my mother." He paused to think. "Well, I saw 'er panties, but that don't count, do it?"

"You saw her--" Simon threw both hands over his face immediately. "Oh, that I _didn't_ have ears. Jayne..."

"It's she what wanted me t' tell ya, and before you shove me out the airlock--"

"_Jayne_," Simon said more severely, hands dropping from his face as he stood. Both faced one another, one trying to intimidate the other to make them drop their guard first. Surprisingly, it was Simon that won.

He didn't know what to do with the upper hand now that he had it. Silence. That seemed to be their best and only weapon. Then, Simon pinched the bridge of his nose as if a headache had just settled into him. He sat heavily.

"I know, Jayne. I know."

The merc paused, like a deer wary of entering a clearing. "Yeah, I just told you."

"I knew before that," he admitted with a grumble, levering his hand to rest instead on his forehead.

"Well _hell_!" Jayne erupted after processing what the doctor had said. "I got the best damn secret in the 'Verse and everyone already knows it!"

"_Everyone_?" Simon asked pointedly.

"Well, not the Captain, but that man's got a head thicker'n yer own personal bubble, there, Doc."

"But everyone else on the ship knows? Kaylee?"

"Girl figgered it out on her own, too." Jayne ran a nervous hand over his face, then levered himself to sit up on the counter he'd been leaning on. "So, what're you planin' on killin' me with, 'cause I hate mysteries."

Simon slicked his fingers though his hair, thinking. "I've been watching you, Jayne, since I suspected that you and River were friends, let alone... _friends_. When you were shot, and we struck up our alliance." He broke off, sighing with a heave of his whole frame. "And I didn't do anything about it _why_?"

"Well, what you askin' me for? I ain't in your gorram head."

"It was a hypothetical question."

"One where y' ask me a stupid question, I answer like a smart-ass, and you shove one 'a them hypothetical needles in me?"

Simon took a moment to grasp at the Jayne-logic, and practically embedded his palm into his forehead. "Those are _hypodermic_, not _hypothetic_."

"Sounds like a conspiracy t' me..."

"The reason," Simon said quickly, picking up the threads of their conversation, "that I did nothing is because she's been so... _happy_ lately. River hasn't been happy in a long time, and if," he looked disgusted at the very idea, "something _you_ are doing makes her happy, then what right do I have to say no?"

"Huh," Jayne said at last. "Thought you'd be more angered-up and all. It bad I'm disappointed you ain't tryin' to punch at me or somethin'?"

"I'm sure I disappoint everyone at some point. Looks like its your turn, Jayne."

"You ain't gonna insult me or nothin'? I mean..."

"I just want to know how long." Simon's face was resolute. He seemed to have thought this whole conversation through already, which made Jayne feel mighty unprepared.

The merc looked up in thought, mouthing figures and numbers, holding up fingers one after another. "Well, I guess it was right after I got shot-up on that Watkins/Watson job, where you were s'posed t' be distractin' someone or another."

Simon looked confused, perhaps horrified. "That was more than two months ago."

"Look," Jayne moved away toward the door, then turned back, hoping the distance would give him an advantage, "she asked me t' tell ya and I did. My job's done here. You got somethin' else t' ask, ask yer sister." Jayne opened up the infirmary door and took one step before he heard Simon's voice.

"You haven't asked if I approve," he said. Jayne turned, eyebrows lowered.

"Don't need your approval, Doc." Jayne strode out of the infirmary with a stiff gait.

Simon waited until Jayne was completely up the stairs before he cracked a smile. Somehow, that'd been the answer he'd wanted.

"That brother 'a yours got me thinkin'," Jayne said absently as he brushed the curls from River's face with one big hand to find her grinning up at him. The engine room was loud enough to hide their conversations, and its far corner dark enough to hide the two of them to their content. As long as she was running smooth, there was no reason for anyone else to barge in on them.

"A profound event," she murmured, brushing her lips along his knuckles as they lingered near her face.

"Hey," he caught her chin in his hand, "now you're soundin' like him, and that's downright unsettlin'." She stuck her tongue out playfully, and he released her from his grip. "Yer right. I don't get thinkin' mostly 'cause thinkin's too much work and a gun's usually faster."

"More decisive outcome," she added, her fingers wandering in his hair. It had a way of distracting him, and it took a moment to sort his words from the way she was making him feel.

"Now cut that out," he murmured. "Interruptin' all the time like him, too."

"Interruptions will discontinue when Jayne divulges what Simon has him thinking on."

"S'what I'm tryin' t' do, but--" He grinned helplessly and just let her fingers wandered as they wished, and he did nothing to stop her. His eyes shut on their own, looking awfully pleased. "He got me thinkin'..." He placed his hands on her shoulders, and she ceased her toying almost immediately. Eyes met in the close quarters, and River felt something strange and new turn over in her stomach. "He got me thinkin' on... on you 'n me."

Something fluttered bright in her, and her hands dropped against his chest. This time she said nothing. Only the turning and growling of the engine room sounded in the next silent moments. She felt him them, like he was a part of her, and not in front of her. He was _afraid_. He hid it quite well on his features, but inside, he was squirming and worried. He was all stone on the outside, but somehow, she'd managed to find a way past that shell to the Jayne on the inside. She smiled softly, and that knot in his stomach only tightened.

"Now that ain't fair," he rumbled lowly.

"What?" she asked honestly.

"You lookin' all... Hell, girl, I..."

She pressed the tips of her fingers against his lips. "I know, _hui xiong_. Not good with the words." She leaned up for one short kiss.

"Gorram," he muttered. "_That_ I'm good at." He scooped her up in his arms and brought her into him. It was the softest, most longing kiss he'd ever given her, and it was time for _her_ insides melt down.

Simon didn't walk away from dinner that night. In fact, the crew seemed somehow more lively and closer that night than ever. Everyone had a smile for everyone else, and Mal wasn't the only one to share a story either. Jayne let loose with one of his less-bawdy stories, cutting out much of the vulgarity at the glances from River and Kaylee. Wash told a ridiculous story of his adventures in flight school and the pranks therein. Simon shared a surprisingly hi-larious tale of a man misdiagnosed with the bubonic plague in which the hospital on Osiris was on lock-down for near three days. It sent Jayne into a fit of harsh laughter, something Mal hadn't expected.

Simon and Jayne exchanged a single glance, and that was all that needed to be said. Under the table, Jayne locked his fingers with River's, and the night went on.

* * *

AN: Howdy, y'all, it's me dropping in to give you another chapter! I've been lucky at making people drive me to Panera and my Mamaw's for internets, and although the updates arent coming as fast as they used to, it gives me more time to go back over and change what I need to. This one's been revised over and over, and hopefully I have just the right amount of everything in here. Oh, and I guess it won't surprise anyone that I've had the majority of the next chapter written for quite a long time, YOU KNOW what chapter I'm talking about. Anyway, thanks for all the love, and stay awesome! 


	14. Lust

**Lust**

Breakfast had been an interesting affair. Mal had announced that they were picking up a salvage job on the side. En route to the fifth moon of Athens, Demeter, to where the shipment of tobacco from Dorian was headed, they were to stop off on the backwaters of Greenleaf. There, they could refuel and, Mal claimed, collect what salvageable parts from the busted generators outside town they could. They'd received newer generators and were looking for a cheap way to get the old parts off-planet. This was where _Serenity_ came in.

"It's easy work, and it's quick. The more hands chip in, the more we can get in the hold before we have t' scoot on over to Demeter and drop this tobacco. Who all is in?" Mal looked about at the entire assembled crew, the spoon halfway to his mouth.

Jayne was the first to raise his hand. Kaylee and Zoe were quick to follow, looking glad to be off-ship and working for once in a good while. Surprisingly, Wash and River volunteered next, both looking eager. Mal nodded, stuffing the spoon in his mouth. "Anyone else?" Simon shook his head simply. Book was staying onboard as well, and Inara differed the sweaty, arduous work quickly.

Mal and Wash took off for the bridge. All dispersed on their own to make ready for the work ahead. They'd been warned ahead of time that this was not a cool planet. Dress appropriately for heat and sweat and sun. It was going to get very hot, very fast.

Jayne waited for the others on the ramp after they'd landed, being the first one ready, apparently. He felt awfully light without the guns he usually strapped onto himself, but it was just the LeMat on his hip this time. He hadn't gone on a job without at least one gun for years. Feeling the blasting heat coming off the land already, he'd removed his fingerless gloves and stuffed them in the pockets of his shorts. As he stood impatiently with arms folded across the simple white wife-beater, he managed to look up at the figure crossing the cargo bay.

Somehow, Jayne suddenly got even hotter.

She was wearing those damn little black shorts, making her long white legs stand out. She had on light sandals that he'd never seen her wear, and her hair was pulled back neatly behind her head with little ringlets falling into her eyes. And it was definitely one of Kaylee's sleeveless tops, and it hung loose on River's slight frame. She was smiling.

Reasonably, Jayne's mouth went dry. It felt like five thousand thoughts blazed through his head in that moment as she walked toward him, most of which made her blush bright red and stop in her tracks. Despite her reaction, his mind focused on one thing, that one thing he swore he didn't need from her, but now stood quite obviously in front of him. She'd told him how many times that she wasn't ready, but something burned hard in the pit of his stomach that he tried very hard to control.

He opened his mouth to rectify his stare and the thoughts she'd picked up on, and, as usual, nothing came out. Mal chose that moment to stride right past the both of them, shouting out orders to those who followed after. Kaylee's hand on River's shoulder jolted her back into motion. The girls walked past Jayne together, River glancing back at him with a strange mix of emotions as she did. He followed soon after, under the combined concerned stares of Wash and Zoe.

Zoe drove herself and River out to the nearest cluster of old generators in the mule, the men walking the short distance. Walking wasn't the problem. It would be easier to load the mule down with parts and have one person drive them back and forth to _Serenity_ than to carry all of it back themselves. It was taking the generators apart that was the problem. And the work started as soon as they'd all arrived.

It was only a matter of time before they were all sweating and miserable in the harsh sun above. And while River lifted a control box from the generator the men were disassembling, her eyes remained locked on the brawny, shirtless mercenary.

When he tore the metal sheeting off of the front of the generator, that same, strange boiling low in her stomach took over. She didn't know why he suddenly made her legs all weak, but it had something to do with the way he'd looked at her back on the ship. The muscles bunched up in his arms as he tore the sheeting away and heaved it to the side, and something in River's chest seized up. It was suddenly very much hotter outside than she remembered. A low, unidentifiable burning made her hold her hand to her chest to attempt to catch her breath back. She didn't know the feeling, but she had an inkling that Jayne did, and would know what to do about it.

He met her heated gaze, paused slack-jawed for a moment, then turned quickly away as Mal stalked between the two of them.

What Mal saw next probably scarred him for life and nearly gave him a rather nasty heart attack.

River suddenly walked up behind Jayne and ran longing white fingers slowly up the man's sweaty back. His spine and shoulders stiffened, and Mal readied himself to step in to keep the merc from killing the girl. He wasn't expecting Jayne's eyes to glaze over like that, or for River to latch onto him despite the heat. Her voice was like none of them had heard before, low and smoky.

"Yes," she said simply. "Yes, Jayne, my _hui xiong_, my man-bear. Yes a million times, until 'yes' doesn't mean anything anymore."

Mal hoped he imagined the redness in Jayne's face. The merc turned slowly to face the girl, both of them red and hot and wet from the work and the heat--and, Mal realized suddenly with churning horror, from each other. It was like Mal and the others didn't exist in that moment, like a spotlight was on the two of them and blotted out everything else. The captain glanced frantically at his first mate, only to find an uncharacteristic, completely un-sarcastic smile on her face. Similarly, his mechanic looked ready to jump for joy at any minute now, and their ever-dour pilot grinned while linking elbows with his wife.

"_Wo de mah_," Jayne uttered at last, as if he'd suddenly remembered how to breathe. "You're not just messin' with me, little bear?"

Her smile was her answer, and it nearly melted _Mal_ in his boots; it was a wonder the merc was still standing. Just as he thought it, River had her hands in Jayne's sweaty hair, down his neck, and pulled him straight against her lips.

It was something none of them could easily forget: Jayne Cobb, weak in the knees. His eyes rolled back all strange in his head, and his knees gave out on him, just like that. The two simultaneously sank behind the generator and disappeared from view.

Mal only let the shock descend on him for one moment before the rage boiled up behind his eyes. "JAYNE!"

The merc's head shot up almost comically from behind the generator, wide-eyed and startled with River still latched around his neck. Wash couldn't help himself any longer and burst into laughter. Kaylee looked just about happy enough to bust. Mal looked ready to maim, kill if possible.

"What in the ruttin' hell you doin' to that little girl?!"

Jayne stared incredulously back at his captain as River kissed him on the face and neck again and again.

"What I'm doin' to _her_?" He was nearly lost to her kisses, but managed somehow to keep talking through the haze in his eyes and throat. "Cap'n, I think _she's_ doin' to _me_!"

"Seems that way, sir," Zoe commented, as straight as possible. Wash snorted a half-giggle beside her, trying to stifle it as hard as he could. Mal whirled on the both of them, unbelieving with brows furrowed hard.

"Are you two not seein' what I'm seein'? Are you seein' this big hulkin' _hun dan_ takin' advantage of this little--"

"_Lao tien ye_," Jayne growled heavily, and Mal whipped around again just in time to see River biting at the merc's ear before they sunk behind the generator again.

"Looks like she's doin' all the... _doin'_," Zoe remarked flatly, raising one slender eyebrow and allowing a quirk of her lips.

"There will be _no_ doin' on my ship!" Mal roared furiously.

"Uh, just in case you haven't noticed, Mal," Wash interrupted with a finger raised in question, "Zoe and I have been 'doing' for quite some time now."

"And we ain't _on_ the ship right now," Kaylee butted in.

"Would y'all just shut up for a second?" Jayne's annoyed rumble came from behind the generator. A high line of River's giggles sent red heat across their collective faces.

He could barely breathe between their quick and fevered kisses, trying to get a solid hold on her, to feel every bit of her with his hands. He didn't care what the others were doing to keep the captain at bay, as long as they were doing it. He didn't want this to end. She was all little and lithe and hot and the way she fit against him, slid against him, how she knew so much... She took a shuddering intake of breath, all she could dare to grab, before pressing him back down into the dust and seizing his lips again.

Wash saw Jayne's booted foot twitch and squirm from behind the generator, kicking dust into the air, followed by a strange sound he didn't want to know the origin of. He honestly wondered if the two of them were just gonna get it on right there, with everyone watching.

His fingers clutched in her hair, calling her everything he could think of with his mind as heated as it was. The sound of her name brought a little growl to her lips, which she latched onto his ear gladly.

"Fuck me sideways, girl, you got _no_ idea how much I wanna sex you right now," he growled into her hair, loving the way she smelled even when she was dirty.

There was a pause, and she looked at him dully through heavy eyelids. One small finger tapped the side of her head, as if impatient. His eyebrows shot up.

"Oh, right... Psychic."

She didn't let him waste any more time talking. She knew Mal was already on his way to force them apart. She didn't want the captain to feel guilty dragging off the little girl, so she effortlessly hooked one leg around the man under her and flipped the both of them. Jayne was astonished for only a moment, bright thoughts of _that's one hell of a girl I got myself_ brought a blooming smile to River's lips before she leaned up to kiss him one more time.

Mal's hands seized Jayne by the feet and just tugged. While he was bulky and large, even for a man of his height, Mal had caught him in a moment of weakness and was able to wrench the man off of River. Even if she'd seen it coming, she reached out for Jayne as he was pulled off of her, whimpering in a longing way. Jayne was just stupefied.

The captain rolled Jayne over with his boot, glaring death down at him. Luckily for everyone, he'd left his pistol with his other things aboard the mule. So he settled for pointing a deadly accusatory finger at the wide-eyed merc staring up at him from his back.

"Give me three reasons not t' kill you right now, Jayne Cobb."

A serious pause, then Jayne cocked one eyebrow up. "I'm so damn good-lookin'?" Mal glared even further at the happy giggle from River, who had sat fully up to watch.

"_Three_." Mal's voice was undebatable, and all the smiles dropped off of the surrounding faces. Jayne sat up, getting himself to a better position to glare up at his captain.

"I'm the best damn shot on _Serenity_," Jayne reasoned, "and you'd have a hell of a time findin' a replacement if ya spaced me."

"Sounds like one, sir," Zoe said in her normal monotone. As an answer, Mal held up one finger, glaring steady death down at Jayne.

"Kaylee's awful attached t' me now," Jayne flashed the mechanic a grin, which was reciprocated too easily. "Hate t' have a grievin' mechanic, wouldn't ya, Mal?"

"I'd cry like all hell, Cap'n," Kaylee backed him up, pouting in a mood swing that none had seen the likes of. Mal begrudgingly held up a second finger.

That left one good reason. Jayne thought good an hard. This had to be the best reason anyone could ever think of, or Mal would just wave it off and space him anyway.

Jayne's face got so serious and so sober that dead silence took even the heart of chatty Wash. The merc stood, standing over his captain with that look in his eye that could shatter the hearts of lesser men. He dared one glance over his shoulder to where his girl stood with hands clutched white. She knew what he was going to say. His stern facade slipped into something softer, just for that one moment, and it made _Kaylee_'s heart skip a beat. She wondered how River was still standing. Jayne turned back to Mal, his third reason found.

"I love 'er."

No one but River had expected that answer, and all seemed completely bowled over. Mal looked for all the world like a gaping fish. He'd been just fine imagining the merc as some emotionless stone just getting tail and booze where he had enough money to do so. He never for the life of him expected that "L" word to come out of that lummox's mouth.

The captain's inner turmoil was interrupted by a bright, deafening squeal beside him as Kaylee finally lost control of herself. She had both hands at her mouth, staring at Jayne with a fondness and admiration that bordered on adoration.

"That's the best reason I ever heard in my life, Cap'n," Kaylee turned to him, her eyes sparkling like she'd just been read a tale of fantastical knights and princess, expecting them to ride off into the sunset. "You heard the man!"

"If you're gonna shoot me, do it quick. I ain't one for waitin'." Jayne tried so hard to retain that hard mercenary shell he'd spent all this time building up. All it took was one girl to break him down. He tensed at her touch on his shoulder. She effortlessly turned him to face her, cupping his cheek in one of her hands. Mal was about to protest, but something in that girl's eyes made his throat seize up unexpectedly, and he couldn't find any words.

"Truth?" She asked Jayne in a quiet, hopeful voice.

Mal swore then and there that what Jayne said next was the deciding factor in his doom. He broke that girl's heart, he was gonna be shot five times by everyone on the ship. If he somehow said something _right_, Mal knew there was no power in the 'Verse that would get that man off his boat.

And Jayne smiled. Damn him, he actually _smiled_. The lines on the edges of his eyes crinkled up just the way she liked it, and he smiled. "You know I ain't ever lied t' you, _ni zi_. Don't plan on startin' any time soon, either."

A long, wonderful pause, and River mirrored his smile. She clamped herself suddenly to his side, embracing him like she never planned on letting him go. She shook slightly, Jayne recalling what the doctor said about never being able to hide her emotions. Something almost broke inside him as he realized she was crying.

"My _hui xiong_," she said in a quavering voice. "My truthful bear, never lies. Loves his little bear." She paused to shake silently for a quiet moment, and she sniffled helplessly. Looking up at him with wet doe eyes and a beautiful smile through the tears: "I love my Jayne."

His knees almost buckled out from under him again, but by clutching onto her he was able to keep his ground. He reflected her smile, gripped her shoulders tight, then he lifted her up off the ground. He fixed her in a tight, strong bear-hug, and spun them once, twice before setting her back on the ground.

Kaylee clapped and cheered. Wash whistled. Mal and Zoe exchanged a glance that spoke volumes. There was no way anyone was letting him kick that merc off the ship. A low, grumbling sigh, and he grudgingly offered a muted slow-clap to the grinning, giddy couple.

Simon was bored and waiting in the cargo bay when the team arrived back with the last load of salvaged generator bits. Zoe drove in on the mule first, smirking knowingly as she climbed down, not saying a word. Wash and Kaylee were next, talking in low voices and grinning ear to ear. Mal stalked on next, looking miffed beyond reason, and sunburned across his exposed shoulders. He only spoke one loud, obnoxious sentence as he entered:

"Doc, would you get outside and surgically remove your sister's tongue from my merc's throat?!"

Simon was lucky Kaylee was there to catch him from falling down a flight of stairs.

She plopped down on the bed before him, clothed only in her bra and those little black shorts, cheeks glowing a soft red. He was awfully quiet as he stared down from his position straddling her, drawing fingers light on her torso. She shivered instinctively. He removed his fingers with a twitch, obviously torn by something.

"Y' don't gotta do this t' make me happy," he told her finally. She could see inside him and knew that seeing her like this was bringing him plenty of happiness, but she could also feel that he told the truth. She nodded, catching her breath.

"I know," she murmured, bringing his hands gently back down on her, slipping her fingers up through the dark hair on his arms. "Want to." She got this smoky look in her eye that nearly broke Jayne just looking at her. "My choice."

"S'gonna hurt," he added quickly before she could do any more to him. She paused, the light in her eye fading slightly at the truth of it, and watched him for a short moment before she nodded again.

"I know. Prepared. Or... as much as I will be." Her little fingers ran along his jaw line encouragingly. "My choice." With a suddenness that almost scared him, her fingers were latched onto his belt and were quickly pulling it off of him. River didn't waste another moment, seizing his lips in hers openly. She pressed full up against him, chest to chest. She couldn't get enough of him, which was just fine by him on any normal occasion. But he pulled back just barely.

"S-slow down, _ni zi_," he said in a barely controlled voice. She faltered, grazing her lips against his and just wanting him. He somehow was able to control himself against the look in her eye. "We got all night, baby, and rushin' in won't do no good for you or me, _dong le ma_?"

Her face was red and lips full as she offered a low: "Understood." Then, she gave him a bright smile, which softened into something that just melted him in that hard Jayne core of his.

He cupped the side of her face fondly in one hand, looking for the words. "Darlin', you keep lookin' at me like that, and I'm like t' bust-up." A pause, and she placed her hand gently over his. "It just ain't fair. You got me all wrapped up, lookin' at me like I'm just the shiniest thing you ever saw, and just I don't know what t' do."

"Do you love me?" She asked suddenly.

Only the briefest of pauses to get over the shock of her asking, then he nodded. "Yeah."

"Then that's all you need to do," she told him, leaning up to steal a kiss. With that, she wrapped her arms up and around his neck and pulled him back down to her.

* * *

AN: Whoo! I gotta go take a shower now. A cold shower. And, I apologize to whomever, but I don't write smut. I don't mind reading it (tee hee) but I won't be writing it. Sorry! Hope this is enough to sate all my fine readers. And I hope this is a fine culmination. The next chapter is the last (oh, woe!!) and I have the possibility of continuing on afterwards. If only I had something like the senses or the vices/virtues to base the chapters on! I like my little organization method, and I kinda hope to keep it for later. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm open and listening. Thanks much for sticking with me this far, and I hope I've managed to keep your attention for this long. Much love, and thanks for reading! 


	15. Loyalty

** Loyalty**

Kaylee padded up to the crew corridor, biting her lower lip nervously. This was the last place to search for her part. Simon was in the cargo bay, overturning crates. Kaylee had a sinking feeling the closer she moved to Jayne's bunk. He'd locked it. She knocked once, and a loud thump and a string of muted cursing followed soon after. A long pause, and nothing else happened, so Kaylee knocked louder. There was a click, and the lock disengaged. Quietly, she pressed the hatch open.

"Jayne?" Kaylee called down into the bunk, looking down the ladder into the darkened room below. She could see him walk into the shaft of light, shielding his eyes. He was clad only in his dark boxer shorts, his pants in his other hand ready to be put on.

"What the hell you want?" He asked in a sleepy growl of a voice.

"Have you seen River?" She asked quickly in a subdued voice. "I mean, last night after dinner or anythin'? Simon woke up this mornin' and her bed was empty. No one else's awake yet, and we didn't want t' stir up a panic but--"

She cut herself off wide-eyed as River stumbled into her bird's-eye-view, struggling to pull her shirt on over her head. Otherwise, the girl was clothed only in her underthings. Jayne looked just as startled as she bumped against him, grunting and fighting the shirt. Kaylee had never seen Jayne blush, let alone as bright and red as he turned at that moment. He wordlessly helped River pull her shirt on, at which she smiled thankfully, then the both of them looked up at Kaylee. A short, awkward pause ensued.

"I, uh..." Jayne looked from Kaylee to River then back again. He jerked a thumb at the girl. "Found 'er."

"You two--" Kaylee put a hand to her mouth, not sure whether to be gleeful or frightened for Jayne's life. "Y' mean y'all--"

"Sex," River said monotonically beside her beau, making both Jayne and Kaylee jump. "Copulation. Fornication. Coitus. Intercourse." She smirked in a way that surprised Kaylee. "Mated."

A muscle twitched in Jayne's jaw and his face turned an even brighter shade of red.

"Jayne!" Kaylee's face mirrored his own, how much she was not sure.

"Three times," River clarified, holding up three fingers as a reminder.

"She don't gotta know that!" Jayne said suddenly, his hackles raising and blushing all the way down his neck. He disappeared from Kaylee's view momentarily, and River's shorts flew out of the darkness at her. "Get yer pants on, 'fore the Doc's brother-senses start tinglin' and he finds a mind t' pull my brains out through my ears."

"My _hui xiong_ is always so inventive," River mumbled pleasantly, pulling her shorts on. She climbed up the ladder, met Kaylee with a wide smile on her face, then linked elbows with the young woman. "Let us go tell lies to my big brother."

Despite the shock, Kaylee mirrored the girl's smile and hugged her arm close to her side. She was the _only_ secret-turtle in _this_ club.

Simon, Kaylee and River met in the galley to find Book preparing his own breakfast. The doctor deflated and hugged his sister close without introduction.

"Found 'er dead asleep in the copilot's chair, Simon," Kaylee said cheerfully, feeling proud that she now had a secret all to her own. "Looks like Wash's lessons're rubbin' off on her."

"Perfectly safe," River assured Simon, patting his shoulder as she sat at the table.

The others filed in as usual, despite the unnatural silence that seemed to have seized all of them. Most didn't know what to do now that River and Jayne were common knowledge. Wash personally felt a little put-out that there was no longer a secret club to partake in. Mal, for the most part, tried to ignore the look that broke over River's face when Jayne entered the room. The mercenary mussed his hair with a morning sigh, looked about the room once, then pulled out the chair directly beside River and sat.

The girl kissed him right on his scruffy cheek, and that action seemed to wash the silence from the galley.

Most of the talk was pertaining to the drop-off on Demeter in two days, giving them plenty of time to make the fifteen crates from Dorian ready. It seemed that while their tobacco was completely legitimate, their salvage from Greenleaf wasn't. So, Wash had found a longer but safer route to Demeter that would tack a day onto their running time. Jayne stuffed his spoon into his mouth as he wrapped his arm around River's shoulders and scooted her nearer. The previous tension morphed into a comfortableness that neither of them had had the pleasure of experiencing in a long time.

The next two days were theirs. They laughed and smiled, two things that never came easy from Jayne. Even Mal had to admit he liked Jayne better while he was with River--she made him almost civil, which was much easier to bear. And when the night came, she stole away to his bunk in silence, and afterward she returned to the passenger dorms before Simon could wake and worry. Only Kaylee knew, and she wasn't saying anything.

It was agreed that Mal, Zoe and Jayne would cart the crates out to the rendezvous point, where they would meet with the buyer and supplier of this little moon, a fella going by the name of Terrin. Mal didn't know anything about him, and Wash couldn't dig up any dirt on the Cortex, so they assumed that he was generally a good guy.

Jayne stood facing the grassy plain of Demeter just as the sun rose over the horizon. A pretty pink and gold dawn, opposed to the evening they'd been experiencing on the ship; not Jayne's favorite time to work, but better than a beating the noonday sun could give you. He checked systematically to make sure he had all of his guns strapped to himself. River unsurprisingly appeared behind him, holding out her single pistol.

"May need her," she said solemnly. Jayne grinned in a way only he was able.

"Naw, she's yours now. 'Sides, got myself a pretty number 'a guns on me, don't think little Susan'd do much difference. Why, you think somethin's goin' down?"

"A strange feeling," she murmured, placing a hand low on her stomach. "Unsure. Her head is a jumble of nothings." She looked up at him for guidance. He shrugged.

"Simple drop-off. I ain't worried, so you don't get your panties all knotted up over it, all right?"

"Such interest in my under-things," she murmured, tucking Susan back into her holster at her side.

"You ain't givin' me a reason not t' be interested," he smirked. His fingers curled on the back of her neck, pulling her up for a toe-curling kiss. "Back 'fore you can blink."

"Mmn," she responded simply, still dazed. As he sauntered down the ramp, she regained herself and called after him. "My love, _hui xiong_!"

He turned, grinning widely and pulling his sunglasses down on his eyes. "Back at ya, _bao bei_."

When he was shot, she felt every bullet go through him like hot fire. Simon didn't know why she'd suddenly shot to her feet, screaming. River clutched at her chest near her heart, shouting about the blood, so much blood, can't stop the bleeding.

As Simon and Kaylee together carted the wailing River off for the infirmary, Wash's voice came over the ship-wide com. Mal, Zoe and Jayne were on their way back. It hadn't gone smoothly. Simon was to have the infirmary ready, and bring the stretcher. Kaylee stayed with River in the infirmary, stroking her hair and asking what was wrong over and over.

Mal and Zoe lifted the bleeding and half-conscious Jayne onto the exam table with the stretcher, who groaned and complained in a loud, strained voice. Kaylee's eyes couldn't blink, staring at the merc's blood-soaked shirt. He was still holding his gun.

"What happened?" She pleaded, edging toward the door. Mal wiped the sweat from his brow, looking more concerned than usual.

"Deal went south. Bandits snuck up on all 'a us and Jayne here was the only one what saw 'em comin'. Zoe 'n me would probably be dirt-nappin' right now... Anyhow, got himself shot who-knows how many times. Doc, you better be thinkin' on seven ways t' save this man's life, your eyebrows all furrowed like that."

Mal felt someone brush by his side, and looked down to see River move silently past him to the man on the exam table. The arguing masses went into a quiet rumble when Jayne turned suddenly silent. His breathing was labored and deep as he reached his bloodied hand out toward her. She wordlessly gripped his paw in both of hers, holding him close to her chest.

"Think I been shot," he rumbled. Simon tried to quietly usher the onlookers out of the infirmary. He and Mal assured everyone that no one was going to die today, but River kept her eyes locked on Jayne's. "Was gonna wait a while, t'... looks like that might not happen, but--"

"Jayne..." River said at last, her voice small.

He wheezed, shaking his head. "Cut that... Gettin' on, I was gonna... Gorramit, girl..." He clutched her hand, not knowing what to say or how to say it, or even if he had enough time to. But Mal knew, and he stepped forward shaking his head.

"Don't you even think on it, Jayne!"

"Oh, I'm thinkin' on it, Cap'n," Jayne grunted in response. "And I don't give a good gorram what you think, I just..." He looked to River for help, and she in turn looked pleadingly up at Mal.

"You're the captain," she told him. "Need you now more than ever."

"Don't see what difference it's gonna make now, Jayne--"

"Just _do it_, Mal!" As he spoke, blood flecked on his lips, and he was quick to wipe it away with the back of his free hand. Concern flickered over Mal's features only briefly, then he finally consented and gave a stiff nod.

"I need a Bible or anythin'?"

"Here, Captain," Book handed over his volume without looking up from the couple clutching to each other on the exam table. Mal took the book wordlessly.

"All right." He cleared his throat, looked nervously sideways to see the entire crew had gathered outside the infirmary doors. Kaylee had her fingers gripped tight with Simon's, tears in her eyes. Wash was ashy and silent, something that set Mal's brain into a tailspin. Wash was never ashy and silent. Mal turned back to River and Jayne, the latter of which grimaced in pain and squeezed the girl's hand in his vice grip. She didn't even flinch.

"Let's do this quick-like," Mal said gravely.

"Sounds like a plan," Jayne grunted, chest heaving for breath.

A sigh through his nose, and he awkwardly fumbled with the bible. "You, River. You take this bumblin', sloberin', hulkin', uneducated _hun dan_ t' be yours 'til one 'a you kicks it? This is forever, Li'l Albatross."

"I know. Very much so, Captain," she said solemnly. Mal winced a bit when he saw the big tears rolling down her face. Jayne worked past the pain to wipe his thumb across her cheek to rid her of those tears. He left a smudge of blood there instead.

"And you, Jayne? You take this skinny, moonbrained, babblin', little genius girl for your wife so long as you're breathin'?"

"Yeah," he wheezed through the pain. "You bet your life on it, Cap'n."

A short unsure pause as Mal discovered something obstructing his throat. He cleared it, then handed the bible back to its owner. "Well, then," he said once he'd regained his voice, "y'all are man and ruttin' wife. Go on and kiss t' seal the deal."

She didn't need another moment to think, as she grabbed the sides of Jayne's face in her hands and kissed him. The assembled watchers didn't know if they should be clapping or crying or both. With Jayne's bloodied hand bunching her hair passionately in his fist, kissing her with what strength he had left, it was a macabrely touching sight. Kaylee dug her fists into her eyes, trying not to cry aloud. Simon pulled her against him to stroke her hair in comfort. Inara unthinkingly entwined her fingers with Mal's, something that, surprisingly, didn't surprise him.

Suddenly, Jayne's whole body jerked and stiffened, his one visible hand trembling. He pawed once at her hair, then his hand fell limp to his side.

River pulled back, looking frantically down at the slack form of a human being in front of her. "Jayne?"

Simon stepped away from Kaylee quickly, and was immediately pulling River down off of her husband. "Get her out of here," he said very pointedly to Mal. He didn't even bother arguing at the look in Simon's eye as he latched his fingers around River's wrists.

"Jayne!" She cried out, struggling against Mal's grip as he pulled her from the infirmary. "_Jayne_!!"

As she was pulled silently away from the infirmary, she could see his body seizing under Simon's best efforts to placate his last throes. River struggled, fought weakly to go back, to be with him. Mal's arms encircled her, keeping her in one place as she babbled nonsense in a watery voice, kicking and flailing.

"C'mon, Li'l Albatross!" Mal shook her slightly in his arms, trying to get her settled. "Nothin' you can do right now; let yer brother do what he does."

"Not fair!" She cried, not bothering to rid her face of tears. "Time's too short, all dies and fades, and he's gone! Can't be left alone--too many tears, she'll dry out and float away!" Her next words were lost in an unidentifiable wailing. Kaylee wordlessly closed the doors to the infirmary, where wildly beeping equipment drowned out all other noise.

She'd exiled herself to Jayne's bunk, where she lay curled up on his bed, clutching Susan tightly to her chest. She sniffled and wheezed every now and again. Kaylee sat in the corridor above, knees pulled to her chest in her own silent mourning as she stood watch over the newly-wedded girl. River was right. It wasn't fair. Someone in the 'Verse is lucky enough to love and be loved back, it just wasn't fair to have it all pulled out from under you. She poked her head in to check on River from time to time, and eventually found her wrapped in an unsteady, tear-induced sleep.

Mal stood on the bridge, looking out at the map of stars before them, saying nothing and thinking on much. Inara could read him easier than a book, and lay her head comfortingly on his shoulder. There were no words, and they both preferred it that way. No one came in to interrupt their silence, thanks to Kaylee sitting outside in the corridor as their door ward as well. There was time to talk later. Now was time for quiet contemplation and silent thoughts.

Simon exited the infirmary more than an hour later, wiping his brow and closing the doors behind him. Wash jumped up from the nearby chair, looking tired and nervous. Simon was surprised to see _him_ there, of all the people on the ship. Wash was wringing his hands, peering into the covered windows to perhaps glimpse the wounded merc.

"How is he?" Wash asked, upon not seeing Jayne inside. Simon ran a nervous hand over his eyes.

"Right now? He's not dead, and I consider that quite an accomplishment."

"_Wo de mah_," Wash muttered, looking at his feet. "What happened? Was he hit by a bus?"

"Three bullets in total," Simon said as unattached as possible. "One just by his heart, too. He was lucky to live through his own wedding, let alone his honeymoon."

"How do you feel about all that?" Wash asked, hoping to get off the subject of bullets and death.

"I don't know," Simon admitted, feeling a little sickly. "As odd as it sounds to say it, Jayne's a friend. But part of me knows how dangerous his line of work is, and that this could very well happen again, and often. I don't want River to..."

"Yeah," Wash muttered, crossing his arms to give them something to do. "Mal married me and Zoe too, you know," he said out of nowhere. "He didn't like it one bit, but he did it right over the dinner table then went right back to his mashed potatoes afterward." He rubbed his eyes, looking a nervous wreck. "Zoe couldn't stay. She went to try and sleep, which I assume is where everyone else went." He paused, sighing with a whole heave of his body frame. "We gonna go spread the news?"

"I suppose we should let everyone know my brother-in-law is alive," Simon murmured, glancing over his shoulder before walking alongside the pilot up the nearby staircase.

Kaylee and Book looked up as the two men entered the crew corridor. Kaylee stood at once, her eyebrows knit. Mal poked his head out of the cockpit, and he took down the stairs followed closely by Inara. There was no sign of Zoe or River.

"She's dead asleep down there," Kaylee said quietly, nodding down the ladder to Jayne's bunk. "I never seen anyone cry themselves t' sleep, Simon. 'Bout broke my heart."

"How's my mercenary?" Mal asked intently.

"Alive," Simon said, bolstered slightly by his little chat with Wash. "Stable, considering all the trauma he's been through. He's lost a lot of blood, enough to need a transfusion. Thankfully, Mikhail was smart enough to leave me enough plasma, and in Jayne's blood-type. If left on his own without a lot of drama, he should be back to good health in about a week. That means--" he added quickly before Kaylee could interrupt, "--no parties, celebrations, anything to get his blood pumping faster than normal rate; he can't go out on any jobs for _at least_ a week, probably longer if you want him functioning properly."

"That's good news, right?" Kaylee asked at last, offering a tentative hint of a smile, ready to wipe it away if it wasn't.

"It's good news," Simon assured her with a tired smirk. "You'll have your swearing, uncouth mercenary back before you notice he's gone."

Kaylee threw her arms around Simon's neck and practically squeezed the life out of him. She knocked the breath out of him, which he was barely able to recover before she kissed him soundly on the cheek. She sang his praises for another good minute, making the doctor awfully red in the face. The tension released from the gathered crew, and Mal actually smiled at Inara.

They allowed that River could stay asleep in Jayne's bunk so long as he was in the infirmary. Simon said that Jayne would be okay to move up to his own bunk in a day or three, depending on his pain level and how ornery he was. They all took to their rooms to sleep, think, and dream. It was time for River to wake.

Night cycle was dead quiet. Even River's bare feet made no sound as she stepped down toward the infirmary. She slid the door noiselessly open to glimpse her man asleep on the exam table. His chest moved steadily up and down, his mouth slightly ajar. She padded silently to his side, observing the harsh contrast of his stitched wounds, where the blood had been cleared away. He was pale, and cold. River placed her warm hand directly in the center of his chest.

After a long wait, his voice rumbled in his chest under her fingers, something she'd come to enjoy. "Know that ain't the Doc," he said groggily. His fingers rose from his side, covering hers in a drugged, soporific way.

"I'm here," she said calmingly. "Your Mrs. Cobb."

The edge of his lips twitched up, and he gripped her hand feebly. "Oh yeah... We got hitched, didn't we?"

"Yes," she said quietly, running her thumb over his knuckles. "Changed your mind, now that you are not dying?"

"Cut that talk," he told her, still not opening his eyes. "You know that ain't true. I prob'ly woulda got t' it 'ventually. Just ain't good with the words."

She smiled helplessly. Her fingers skated through his hair, something that made his smile curl up like a cat's. River leaned down, careful of his wounds, and kissed him delicately. A low grumble of pleasure, and his hand gripped weakly at the back of her neck.

Simon arrived in the doorway just in time to see his sister pull away from Jayne, smiling and holding tight to his hand.

She stared tearfully at the blood under his fingernails. "Yours forever, now," she said quietly. "To love, honor, respect... to be loyal, Mama Bear and Papa Bear. She is your problem now."

For a moment, she wondered if he had gone back to sleep, but he managed to utter in a low voice, "Good problem."

She smiled fondly down at her man. "My love, Mr. Cobb."

He took only the space of a sighing breath to respond: "Back at ya, Mrs. Cobb."

"Let him get some sleep," Simon said from his position at the door. "He'll be here in the morning. I promise."

As she hugged herself tightly to her brother's side, he could barely hear her little voice. "Thank you for sharing, Simon." He embraced her in return, wordless and silent, comforting in only the way a brother can.

Three days later, in Jayne's bunk, his grandmother's ring on her finger sealed the deal. As careful as she was, she still managed to raise his heart-rate.

* * *

AN: WELL, this is it. This is the end of the journey! The final chapter! I had ever-so-much fun writing this, and it was great to have y'all here with me for it. I seriously love writing these guys, which is why I am soooo sticking around to write a sequel to this. Which makes it a tri-quel to SENSE... So it'll be a Rayne trilogy... And, I've thought of a theme for the next series. I'm thinkin' western zodiac (leo, aquarius, cancer etc.) for the theme! Tell me if that sounds cool, and if not I'll change it. I hope all of you like the last chapter, and hope it wasn't too melodramatic or anything. I absolutely love it for different reasons. Thanks, all, for sticking with me and sending me love all throughout. I love all of you, and have a great summer! 


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